His road towards redemption may look extremely difficult, but S Sreesanth wants to keep no stone unturned. He is currently taking lessons in mental conditioning from Michael Jordan's former trainer Tim Grover.
As Sreesanth eyes a return to competitive cricket, the biggest hurdle could be fitness considering he is 37. But the Kerala pacer is so committed that he gets up as early as 5am to attend online mental conditioning classes from Grover.
"Grover was one of the biggest names in NBA. I attend Grover's online sessions from 5.30 am to 8.30 am thrice a week. In the afternoon, I train from 1.30pm to 6 pm at the indoor nets in Ernakulam with a lot of Kerala U-23 players and Ranji Trophy players like Sachin Baby," Sreesanth, who has been named in Kerala’s probables list for the upcoming Ranji season, quoted as saying by PTI.
Sreesanth was arrested by the Delhi Police in 2013 over charges of spot-fixing in that year's edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI had imposed a life ban on the right-arm speedster.
However, Sreesanth fought a long court battle over the same and was in 2015 acquitted of all charges by a special court in Delhi.
In 2018, the Kerala High Court had also revoked the BCCI's decision. Last year, even though the Supreme Court upheld his guilt, it asked the Indian cricket board to reduce his quantum of punishment. In response to which, the board reduced the life ban to seven years, which ends this September.
Asked if he will put his name up for IPL auctions in 2021, Sreesanth replied: "I will put my name for sure if I am performing well, which I think I will. There are teams which will be interested and I have always told myself that I will again play IPL. That's where I was thrown out and I will make sure I am back on that platform, win matches."
The scars are still there and he wants that platform back, own that stage and get closure for a harrowing seven years of his life.
"The only place through which I can give an answer is through IPL even if I play for India. I want to face the fear and that's the only way to live life.
"Most of my fear was about what would people say when I play my next cricket match. I am sure all those people will realise what I went through and who are behind it," he said.
"Everything will come out sooner or later. I will make sure that I have that much performance to get picked," the fast bowler asserted.
In order to fulfill his wish to play for India, Sreesanth is honing his skills by bowling with red and white balls in the nets.
"I am bowling three hours for six days a week. First two hours with the red ball and final hour with the white ball. So, I guess around 12 overs I am bowling every day to build stamina. The aim still is to play for India, not just win Ranji and Irani Trophy," he revealed.
(With PTI inputs)
