Photo: BCCI
Making a comeback to professional cricket is always tough. But returning back after seven long years at the age of 37, that too after going through arrests, fixing allegations and mental trauma is even tougher. But not for S Sreesanth. He fought court cases, singlehandedly battled the false allegations by BCCI and finally he is back on to the cricket field to prove his critics wrong. And guess what, he has announced his return in style. He rattled the stumps of Puducherry batsman F Ahmed to make a clear statement that the old Sreesanth is back.
The main highlight of yesterday’s Syed Mushtaq Ali match between Kerala and Puducherry was one man- S Sreesanth. All eyes were glued on to the TV to witness one of the greatest swing bowlers India has ever produced making a comeback to professional cricket after seven long years. He bowled the second over of the match which showed all that rustiness of a person bowling after these many years. The line and length were all over the place. But as the saying goes, the best learns quickly than the rest. Within a gap of one over, he corrected his line and length and what followed was a sight that reminded the viewers of the 2007 T20 World Cup Semi Final against Australia, where he uprooted the stumps of Aussie legends Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden.
In a similar fashion he rattled the stumps of star Puducherry batsman F Ahmed. The ball swung late in the air and clipped the top of middle stumps in typical Sreesanth fashion. He followed it up with another two brilliant overs and finally ended his return match with the figures of 1-29.
Raw emotion has always been synonymous with Sreesanth. While it was the ‘in-your face’ kind of aggression that the old Sreesanth was famous for, the new one was full of emotion resembled gratitude. Immediately after taking the wicket, he looked up straight into the sky to thank the almighty for making this dream comeback possible. And when his spell was over, he went up to the stumps and thanked the pitch in gratitude. That single moment summed up how much this return meant to him, and how much he had to go through to be able to be physically present at that moment.
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