Sreesanth, India’s 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup-winning fast bowler, is back in news as his suspension from cricket is set to come to an end in September. His state team Kerala has already stated that he will be included in the side if he can prove his fitness.

Sreesanth was banned for life in 2013 for his involvement in spot-fixing during that year’s IPL. But later his ban was reduced to seven years by BCCI and court.

In a talk with CricketAddictor, Sreesanth recalled a compliment he received from then captain MS Dhoni during the 2009 Kanpur Test against Sri Lanka. On a flat pitch, the right-arm pacer came up with a stunning show to help India beat the Islanders by an innings and 144 runs.

S Sreesanth took six wickets, five of them in the first innings, to wreck Sri Lanka’s batting and was named the Player of the Match. After the match, MS Dhoni rated Sreesanth as good as Zaheer Khan in getting the ball to reverse swing.

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“I remember it was a flat track and there was no way we would’ve won that Test match,” Sreesanth said.

He revealed that a guy names Hamsa, who was a curator in Kerala, taught him reverse swing. “I never used to call any pata (flat or dead pitch) a pata but I used to enjoy bowling on such pitches. I am from Kerala, I never got a green wicket to bowl on. It is a very important thing to have good control in reverse swing and that I learned from a guy named Hamsa,” he said.

“He is a curator in Kerala now he used to be a cricketer and then an umpire. Yes, there was Wasim Akram, there was Waqar Younis, there was Allan Donald, a lot of people I could speak to and I even worked under Allan Donald. But the real guy who taught me how to use the crease, how to bowl, how to use the angle was Hamsa. I am still in touch with him,” Sreesanth added.