India‘s suspended pacer S Sreesanth, who made his debut for the national side in 2005, has gone through some tumultuous times. After enriching the highs of being involved in India’s two World Cup winning campaigns (in 2007 and 2011), he was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for his involvement in match fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. The out-of-favour pacer told he is very much interested in playing again and if need be, he is ready to challenge BCCI as there is no proof of his ban in form of a mail or letter. He also opened up about his current relationship with Harbhajan Singh with whom he had a spat in IPL’s inaugural edition.
According to DNA, speaking on his horrifying experience in jail in 2015 due to spot-fixing fiasco, he stated, “After 12 days, I was sent to Tihar Jail. I was in a dormitory with 450 criminals inside. I was in jail for 27 days, the experience was horrific. They also said something about money laundering and mentions of Dawood Ibrahim. They also apparently had a conversation between the two of us as well. There was a voice test as well which I passed. They eventually had nothing against me. I got my bail on the 27th day in Tihar.” Sreesanth vents frustration on Twitter after being denied to play cricket despite court clearance
He added, “I went back to my house, but I was really scared. I was depressed for 2 months. My dad had an open heart surgery. My mother had some problems with depression as well. My family and friends started doubting me and I had to wait 2 years for the case to get over”, recalling his down period.
BCCI has imposed a ban on Sreesanth in 2013 whereas the court acquitted him in spot-fixing in July 2015. However, he claims there is no proof of the ban whatsoever and is willing to play again. He said, “I will surely take the BCCI to court if I don’t get the permissions to play. I did not get any suspension letter or email.”
Lastly, when recalled of his slapgate episode with senior pro Harbhajan, he was quick to add that he still looks upto him. “It was not really a slap, it was more like an elbow. I still call him ‘Bhajji Pa’ and he is someone I look up to. He was very irritated because he was the captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) and I was playing for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) which is his home state. I just went up to him at the end of the match and said ‘hard luck’ and it was more like a punch rather than a slap. I cried because I’m emotional. I did not want to fight back”, concluded the 33-year-old.