Kochi: A day after he was exonerated by a court in Delhi in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing case, former Indian pacer S. Sreesanth on Sunday started his first workout in the nets here.
Cheered by a good number of his friends and cricket enthusiasts, Sreesanth turned out on Sunday evening in a blue tracksuit at the Edapally High School ground, where his former Ernakulam Cricket Club has a net.
Before starting his first full net session in almost two years, Sreesanth said it would take him about three weeks to become match-fit.
He bowled and batted and proved that he has not lost anything in the almost two years of being entangled in the case, wherein he even had to spend time in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
Earlier, he arrived at the airport here and was given a warm welcome by his relatives, friends and well wishers.
An hour later it was all hugs and smiles at his residence, where his close relatives gave him moral support.
“I take this opportunity to thank each one of my well wishers who stood behind me in my time of suffering. This is a sort of a second life for me and even if it’s tennis ball cricket, I will take part to get back to full-fledged cricket,” Sreesanth said.
Meanwhile, he was yet to get any positive vibes from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and hence he will have to wait to get back into fully-fledged cricketing activities.
BCCI vice-president and Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president T.C. Mathew said that, since he was out of town, he will not be able to write to the BCCI requesting the lifting of the ban on Sreesanth until Monday.
“If need be, a delegation of the KCA will travel to meet the top BCCI officials to take up the case of Sreesanth and to see that the ban is lifted,” Mathew told reporters.
Rebecca John, counsel for Sreesanth, said the bowler has nothing to fear even if the Delhi Police approached any higher court with an appeal.
“They are free to go ahead with the appeal but we will see that they are given a stronger setback,” said John to the media in Delhi on Sunday.
