In a recent development in the case of tainted Indian cricketer S Sreesanth, after he filed a petition to lift the ban imposed on him, the Kerala High Court have sent a notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asking its views on the same and have fixed the date March 5 for the hearing.
On March 1, the pacer from Kerala approached the Kerala HC and challenged BCCI’s not to lift the life ban on him despite a Delhi court dropping spot-fixing charges against him. Earlier on February 17, urged the newly-appointed BCCI supremo, Vinod Rai to revoke his ban. He has already lost four fruitful years of cricket in his prime. Yet, the Kerala-born pacer wants to play the game that earned him a name. Sources close to him have revealed he (Sreesanth) is upset with the way BCCI has treated his case, even denying him the NOC to play in the Scottish Cricket League.
In 2013, during the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, Sreesanth was accused of being involved in the spot-fixing while playing for the Rajasthan Royals. Later in July 2015, all the 36 accused, including Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, were let-off in the case by Patiala House Court.
It was the BCCI Disciplinary Committee headed by the present Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that slapped a life ban on Sreesanth. Being only the second player from Kerala to represent the country, he has played 27 Tests and 53 One Day Internationals scalping 87 and 75 batsmen respectively.
With a change in the top hierarchy, the Kerala pacer expects a change of fortunes, which still looks bleak.
