S. Sreesanth

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

Source: [1], February 17 2007

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (born February 6, 1983 in Kothamangalam, Kerala, India), commonly known simply as Sreesanth and also nicknamed Gopu, is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman.

Early years

Sreesanth initially was a leg-spinner in his childhood, modelling his action on India's leading Test wicket-taker and now teammate Anil Kumble. However, his habit of bowling yorkers lead him to convert to fast bowling, after being encouraged by his elder brother. Following in the footsteps of fellow Kerala fast bowler Tinu Yohannan, who earned selection to the National Cricket Academy in 2000, Sreesanth was selected for the MRF Pace foundation in Chennai. He then made his first-class debut against Goa in the 2002-03 domestic season, claiming 22 wickets in seven matches in the Ranji Trophy and meriting a selection for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy squad in the same season. He was selected for India-A side in a tour match against the visiting New Zealand side at Rajkot. He claimed one wicket in twelve overs after being restricted with a hamstring injury. He also missed five Ranji Trophy games in that season, although he still travelled with the side for away games. This led to rumours that an astrologer convinced him to take a break from competition to preserve his longevity in the sport, which Sreesanth categorically denied, maintaining that he was training only to regain his fitness.

In November 2004, Sreesanth entered the record books when he took a hat-trick against Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji trophy game, the first time it was achieved by a Kerala bowler, earning him the nickname The Prince of hat-tricks amongst Keralites. He was selected to represent India B in the Challenger Trophy in October 2005, a domestic limited-overs tournament. His strong performance in that tournament, being the leading wicket taker (7) with the third best bowling average led to selection for the Indian team for the home ODI series against Sri Lanka.

ODI career

Sreesanth was given the new ball in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. After being punished early by Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya, Sreesanth returned to claim his first two ODI wickets at the end of the match. He was left out of the team and was later recalled for the fourth, fifth and sixth ODIs as coach Greg Chappell tinkered with the line-up. He was retained in the squad but did not play in the 5 match series against South Africa, but played all five matches in the tour to Pakistan, recording a haul of 4/58 in the fifth ODI against Pakistani cricket team in Karachi. A good home series against the England in April 2006, in which he claimed 10 wickets at an average of 16.3, including a career best 6/55 in the final match at Indore (in which he was awarded the man of the match award [2]), led to him subsequently being awarded a BCCI contract, in the C-grade in May.

His disappointing economy rate led him to be left out of the ICC Champions Trophy squad of 14, with the beneficiary being Rudra Pratap Singh. He made an unexpected come back to the blue squad due to the injury to Ajit Agarkar later in the tournament.

Test career

Sreesanth was selected for his first Test squad in the home series against England in March 2006, in place of Zaheer Khan. He claimed 4/95 in his debut appearance in the 1st Test in Nagpur, where he opened the bowling with Irfan Pathan. He was ruled out of the second Test in Mohali due to illness, but recovered and captured five wickets as well a 29* with the bat in the Third Test in Mumbai. With the axing of Pathan, Sreesanth became India's leading pace bowler on the tour of the West Indies. He missed the second Test due to an injury but managed to claim his best match figures of 5/72 in the 4th Test in Kingston, Jamaica.

Sreesanth's most significant performance to date in Test cricket was his role in the 1st Test of India's 2006 tour to South Africa at Johannesburg. After losing the limited-overs series 4-0, Sreesanth produced took 5-40 in a display of pace and swing to help dismiss South Africa. This performance helped to bowl South Africans out for just 84, leading to first Indian win on South African soil, for which he was named man of the match. Again, Sreesanth's emotional antics, which have lead him to be regarded by some commentators as eccentric, were frequently noted. He was fined after breaching the ICC's advertising logo policy, and also for "conduct contrary to the spirit of the game" after sending off Hashim Amla after dismissing him. He was also involved in a confrontation while batting against paceman Andre Nel, responding to a taunt from the fast bowler by charging the next ball, hitting it for six, and then running after Nel to perform a dance.

Sreesanth courted controversy once again during the fourth day of the second test of India's 2007 tour to England at Trent Bridge. He was fined half of his match fee for deliberately shoulder barging England captain Michael Vaughan whilst walking back to his mark. He also bowled a beamer at batsman Kevin Pietersen. He later bowled a no-ball where he substantially went past the bowling crease, leading to speculation it was deliberate.[3] [4]

Outside cricket

Sreesanth studies psychology at university whilst he is not playing cricket, and speaks English, Tamil and Hindi in addition to the Malayalam language native to Kerala. In his early years, he was a break dancer, becoming a national champion when he was in the eighth grade.

External links

• CricInfo Player Profile : Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
• Cricket Archive Player Profile : Shanthakumaran Sreesanth