S Sreesanth, the former India pacer, has finally opened up on the 2013 spot-fixing scandal in the IPL, in which he was banned along with a couple of other players from Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, S Sreesanth has defended himself once again, saying that he wouldn’t do anything stupid for just ten lakh rupees.
He was apparently referring to his alleged involvement in IPL 2013 spot-fixing scandal where he was picked up by Delhi Police midway through the tournament. However, the cricketer said he wouldn’t do fixing for such an amount as he was one of the most popular cricketers of the time and even spent a minimum of two lakh rupees on his party bills.
S Sreesanth Defends Himself In The IPL 2013 Spot Fixing Case
Giving his version of the story, S Sreesanth said he was bowling 130-plus after 12 injuries to his toe and revealed that he was supposed to concede 14 runs in the over, and he had conceded five runs of four balls.
“This is the first interview in which I am sharing or explaining it. It was supposed to be one over and 14-plus runs. I bowled four balls for five runs. No no-ball, no wide and not a single slower ball in an IPL game. I was bowling at 130-plus after 12 surgeries on my toe.”
S Sreesanth revealed he was trying to come back to the Indian team following his injuries.
“I had played the Irani Trophy and was looking to play the South African series, so that we can win in September 2013. We were going early, and it moves better in September. My goal was to play that series. A person like that, why would I do it, that too for 10 lakhs?, I am not talking big but I used to have bills of around 2 lakh when I partied around.”
S Sreesanth said that he used to make most of his personal payments by credit or debit cards and not by cash. He added that the prayers of his well-wishers helped him to get out of the rut.
“I used to pay with my card not cash. If I had so much of cash, I would have been spraying it out. In fact, I used to take care of even a normal person. In my life, I have only helped and given belief. I have helped a lot of people, and those prayers helped me get out of this. All I would ask is – two balls, five runs, two balls to go. How would I give away all that I had invested? No way,” the Kerala cricketer concluded.
S Sreesanth made his international debut in 2005, in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. He became part of Indian cricketing folklore when he took the catch of Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq to seal the Indian team’s victory in the inaugural 2007 T20I World Cup final. He was also part of the playing XI that lifted the 2011 50-over World Cup four years later.
In the longer version, his finest moment came when he claimed eight wickets in India’s maiden Test win in South Africa – Johannesburg 2006. S Sreesanth ended his international career with 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is, claiming a total of 169 scalps.