On the 12th season of Bigg Boss, I remember reaching out for a box of tissues every time S. Sreesanth spoke about how much he missed his cricket days. The cricketer used to reminisce about his practice sessions and how life took a 360-degree turn after BCCI put a lifetime ban on him for allegedly being involved in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
He spoke about how he and his family weren’t even allowed to watch a match in the stadium.
But looks like life has given him another chance after all. Today, six years later, the Supreme Court revoked lifetime ban on the fast bowler as the punishment was “too harsh.” Rejecting Sree’s plea of not to be punished at all, SC has requested BCCI to consider a different punishment for him in the next three months.
The Bench also made it clear that the order shall have no effect on the criminal proceedings pending against the former cricketer.
After this verdict came out, Sree gave a statement saying, “I need cricket back, I do not think it will take BCCI 90 days to make the decision but I am grateful that the life ban has been removed. I fought my battle all by myself. It was a huge fight and the Supreme Court has given me a lifeline. There were so many opportunities where I was even going to announce my retirement, but thank god I didn’t. I have started staying fit to play the game, thanks to the T20 and T10 leagues, I can still earn my bread and butter somewhere.”
He further added, “I am just being optimistic and I hope to keep myself fit until September-October. Now, I believe I can even play Ranji Trophy for Kerala this season which starts from September-October.”
In May 2013, the cricketing world was taken by storm when three players from the IPL team Rajasthan Royals – Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested by Delhi Police for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy.
All three players were later banned for life by the BCCI. In 2015, Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan were cleared of spot-fixing charges after a Delhi trial court found that there was no evidence to prove that they had been involved in the case.
Images: Instagram
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