S Sreesanth made a stellar statement by picking a five-wicket haul in the 50 overs Vijay Hazare Trophy a few days after all IPL franchises decided to ignore him in the 2021 auction. His name wasn’t included in the shortlist of 292 players. The right-arm pacer dismantled the Uttar Pradesh cricket team in Bengaluru as Kerala won by 3 wickets chasing 284.
S Sreesanth wasn’t impactful in the initial phase of the Uttar Pradesh innings. But the 38-year-old bounced back in style and picked up as many as five wickets later to finish with figures of 5/65 in 9.5 overs including scalps of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohsin Khan, and Shivam Sharma besides Abhishek Goswami and Akshdeep Nath.
S Sreesanth Picks 5 Wicket Haul In Vijay Hazare Trophy Against Uttar Pradesh
Playing his first List A tournament after a long break of 8 years, pacer S Sreesanth shone in the league stage game against Uttar Pradesh and took the 2nd five-wicket haul of his career. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-overs tournament, Kerala’s S Sreesanth turned heads as he picked up his first five-wicket match haul in List A format after a long gap of 15 years.
S Sreesanth, who returned to play domestic cricket after seven years-long gap due to a ban for being involved in IPL spot-fixing was seen claiming 5/65 which is his first five-wicket haul after 2006 in 9.3 overs. The pacer, who made his comeback to Indian cricket in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, continued his form in Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. The senior pacer has 211 first-class, 118 List A, and 52 T20 scalps.
The pacer opened his account with Abhishek Goswami’s wicket in the 21st over. Akshdeep Nath and Priyam Garg scored half-centuries to take the Uttar Pradesh team’s score above 250. Priyam Garg got run out in the 43rd over while Sachin Baby dismissed wicket-keeper Upendra Yadav after a few deliveries.
In the death overs, he got the better of Uttar Pradesh skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mohsin Khan lost his stumps to the pacer soon, while the well-set Akshdeep Nath departed for 68 after handing a catch to Rohith KG off S Sreesanth’s delivery. Shivam Sharma was the last man to lose his wicket to the pacer as Uttar Pradesh collapsed from 242/4 to 283 all out. He now has seven wickets to his name in two matches of the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
S Sreesanth Hasn’t Played An ODI Match Since The 2011 World Cup Final
S Sreesanth has not played an ODI match since the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final. He has performed brilliantly for Kerala after making his return to domestic cricket. Although the IPL franchises did not sign him at the 2021 auction, the pace bowler has not lost any motivation. His last T20I was in 2008 and the last Test was in August 2011.
He was a part of the Indian squad that won the World Cup in 2011 and aims to return to the Indian team soon. His goal is to win the 2023 World Cup with Team India. It will be interesting to see if S Sreesanth can make his ODI comeback after being away from the team for a decade.
The senior pacer has 211 first-class, 118 List A, and 52 T20 scalps. S Sreesanth has played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 10 T20Is. S Sreesanth, initially, was banned for a lifetime for involvement and alleged role in spot-fixing but in August 2019, his ban was reduced to seven years after Supreme Court ordered so. He represented India in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 10 T20Is and picked up 87, 75, and seven wickets respectively.
On 16 May 2013, the Delhi police arrested him and two of his Rajasthan Royals‘ teammates- Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan from Mumbai, on charges of spot-fixing during IPL 6.