Sree Santh also opened up on his friends circle which dragged him in trouble.
Former India fast bowler Sree Santh said he doesn't suck up to people which may have backfired in his cricket career. Sree Santh revealed how the spot-fixing scandal changed him as a person and he wouldn't have been this person without the incident.
The Kerala speedster had to struggle a lot after his name came out in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. He said proving his innocence in court was easy with proofs but not to the people.
“This might sound controversial, but I don't suck up to people. If youngsters are listening, be nice and good, but be yourself. Be proud to be yourself. Don't have hunger and ego, but be yourself. Don't try to suck up to people. That person will be there, those people will come. In my life, I never believed in that part, maybe that backfired," he told Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat.
Sree Santh had no idea what was going around him and he admitted of being in the wrong company. Speaking about his friend circle, he continued, “I believed that if I performed, you don't need anything. You need your almighty and parents' blessings, that didn't work well for me.
"My friends circle also, I trust people a lot, I still do but now I am much more vigilant and smarter. The friends circle you choose, I didn't even know what was happening around me. People who played cricket with me, my own friend, who is no more a friend, the captain of my team was a bookie.”
“The world thought I am traveling the world with him (a bookie). When a guy like me is in that zone and the normal public thinks "Bookie ke saath travel karta hai, bookie ke saath kyu dikhta hai", that was one of the most difficult things to prove to the world, but in the court, it was very easy. In the judicial system, you have proof. But when people see and the news comes, people don't figure out the reality.
"I am really grateful this incident happened. If it had not happened, maybe I wouldn't have been this person. I am breathing and playing cricket, don’t have regrets," he added.
The 38-year-old returned to competitive cricket earlier this year and he represented Kerala in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Puducherry. BCCI had imposed a ban on Sree Santh in August 2013 along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan for indulging in alleged spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League.
But his lifetime ban was reduced to seven years, which got over in September 2020. Later in December, he was added to the Kerala squad after the pacer had a promising pre-season campaign.
“I don't have regrets. It's because of the nightlife I used to have and the friends' circle that used me without my knowledge (that things went wrong). The third, most important thing is whatever happened in my life, I never gave up. I knew I had done nothing wrong.
"All I can say is, I am fortunate, I am breathing and playing cricket. I am confident that people who believe in me, will believe in me. People who don't believe me, no matter what I say, will not believe in me so it doesn't matter what I say," he said.
(With Sportskeeda Inputs)