Dear Sreesanth,
I honestly have little idea what to say here. What can one say to a player who has represented the country at the highest level, and even been part of two World Cup winning squads? Normally for such a player there’d be respect, but that is something I no longer have for you.
I still remember the sight of you slamming South African fast bowler Andre Nel straight over his head for a six and dancing, twirling your bat in the air, something which made even the fierce Nel crack a smile, and perhaps the entire cricketing world. That spell of fast bowling against South Africa in the do-or-die match defending a low total or the catch you took at fine-leg and then proceeded to throw the ball back into the orbit in celebration as India won the Inaugural T20 World Cup are still etched in memory.
Alas, the memories are not all rosy. You were one player who not only managed to irritate the opposition and the match officials, but your own teammates and fans as well. However, all that – all those controversies, fights, immature antics (if we may call your behavior that) – didn’t matter much. At the end of the day, you were a cricketer playing for the national team, and as a fan, I respected you for that one and only thing.
Any player who plays 27 tests for India deserves respect irrespective of how poorly he fared in them; and you didn’t exactly fare badly. You were without any doubt one of India’s foremost talent in swing bowling. There were moments of brilliance in the victories in West Indies and South Africa and people who may not have been your fans, still adored and respected you for it.Now it seems that even you don’t respect yourself, and that much is evident and clearly you were a talent that never knew your own worth.
As a player, everyone plays for 3 reasons –firstly for his country/team, then for his captain and finally for himself. When Zidane could not play in the final match of the group stage in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it was worth seeing the way France played just to ensure Zidane had another match before his retirement. Zidane then came back and single handedly beat Brazil in the quarters to show what the support meant to him. And you, even after the umpteen opportunities given to you both in IPL and the national team,despite not deserving those, had the atrocity to spot fix and probably result in a game going the other way? Hell, you might have done it playing for India as well?
It wasn’t shocking, or even surprising, when the spot-fixing story broke out, which unfortunately that tells the current state of affairs of the game. I felt cheated that the very players I cheered on sold me out, and I was really surprised when I saw your name on the news. How can someone who has experienced what millions in this country dream of, someone whose job is what a billion hearts beat for do something so corrupt? Greed is a big trap, and anybody can fall in it, but you were supposed to know better! You were supposed to BE better!
What you did was stupid, and hopefully you realize that. Hopefully you realize that when you sold your integrity for a few lakhs just as Judas had sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, you lost everything you had gained- honor, respect, love and your dreams. Your career was pretty much done thanks to your form and your tantrums, and now it’s done and dusted. One day, you will realize what mistake you did and why integrity is the most valued thing in any human being. It’s not about the money; the only thing which you live for is to be able to look into the eye of every other human being with the same self-esteem and losing that is probably an end to one’s life itself, because without respect, there isn’t much to live for.
A betrayed fan.
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