Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Shortly after the Kerala High Court ordered India’s cricket board to lift a lifetime ban on Shanthakumaran Sreesanth on Monday, the fast bowler was back to doing what he does best – making outrageous statements to the media.
Sreesanth told The Times of India he was targeting a spot in the national side in time for the 2019 World Cup.
“I know it is next to impossible and it would be a miracle if I play in that World Cup,” he was quoted as saying, “but I have always believed that miracles can happen.”
Indeed, Sreesanth has often gone out of his way to publicly display his faith in the divine. Shortly before India’s trip to the West Indies in 2006, he ventured into the team hotel sporting a shaved head. His explanation to this writer was: “I just got back from Tirupati [a Hindu pilgrimage site in southern India].
"Pray for me cheta [brother] so that I do well," he added.
Sreesanth did quite well for himself in the five or so years since that meeting. But more than anything else, it was his talent – armed with a languid run-up and smooth action – that earned him his success. He swung the ball at good pace, an asset to the Indian team struggling to find good seamers at the time.
His 169 international wickets belied his natural abilities which were for all to see during a brilliant spell against England in the 2006 Mumbai Test. And who can forget the way he bounced, and dismissed, the leading South African batsman Jacques Kallis at Durban in 2010?
Sreesanth in his pomp
Unfortunately the enormous self-confidence which helped him take a heap of wickets, turned out to be a double-edged sword that cut his career short.
Reports of fall-outs with several cricketers, not least the then captain MS Dhoni, contributed to him being unwanted in the dressing room.
One theory for why he was slapped by Harbhajan Singh, a former teammate and fellow hothead, in 2008 was the spinner had had enough of Sreesanth’s boisterousness.
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Although he played a part in India's 2011 World Cup victory, stories of his alleged waywardness off the pitch followed years of wilderness from the national side. A comeback bid in 2013 was then foiled when he was pressed with spot-fixing charges by the Delhi police during the Indian Premier League season.
Four years later, Sreesanth is not only cleared of those charges but has an unlikely chance to salvage his career. But one has to wonder, at 34, how likely it will be for him to wear an India cap again.
Sreesanth certainly working on his fitness
His attempt at comparing his situation with that of Pakistan's rehabilitated fast bowler, Mohammed Amir, is borne out of fantasy. Amir was 17 when he was banned and still took more than six years to return to his best – at the Champions Trophy this year.
With India well stocked in the fast bowling department, it will be quite some feat for him play for his country, let alone in a World Cup.
Amir's performance in Champions Trophy final
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
