Indian cricketer S Sreesanth, who is serving the lengthy ban owing to the IPL fixing saga, has good memories of the 2006 tour to South Africa where India won the first-ever Test match in Proteas Soil. The fast bowler has given all the credits to former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who were his senior players at that time, for giving him the right advice during that series.
Sreesanth was playing only the third Test series of his career, but he dismantled the Proteas’ batting line up like an experienced player. In the first innings of the first Test match, he registered a five-wicket haul which contributed to India’s first Test win on South Africa’s soil. Sreesanth believes that it was not his effort, but Ganguly helped him to get better against strong opposition.
“I still remember we had a tour match in Potchefstroom before the Test series. Sourav Ganguly was making a comeback into the team and he would take me out early to the nets before anyone. I wasn’t too good against the left-handers and bowling those lengthy spells to Dada in the nets helped me a lot,” Sreesanth was quoted as saying by India Today.
Further, the 37-year-old Sreesanth also recalled how Sachin Tendulkar’s advice during the match helped him to get the wickets of Graeme Smith and others. He finished the series with an impressive tally of 29 wickets from three Tests.
“If you would notice, I bowled quite well to the South African left-handers, especially Graeme Smith. After every wicket, I would go to Sachin paaji, because he too would keep telling me from mid-off or mid-on where to bowl. I was the Man-of-the-Match, but it was all because of these legends,” Sreesanth stated further.
“I didn’t know India had never won a Test in South Africa and it was only later that I got to know. I used to bowl against these legends in the nets and that made me the bowlers I was.”
Sreesanth’s ban will end this year in September. He was accused of spot-fixing in Indian Premier League 2013. Initially, he was banned for life, but in August 2019, the Supreme Court reduced his ban to seven years.