Sreesanth's life ban to be restored after court upholds BCCI's appeal

What’s the story?

Troubled pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth’s comeback plans are all set to go for a toss after the Kerala High Court decided to uphold the appeal made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which would restore the life ban on the Kerala-born cricketer.

In case you didn’t know…

Part of the Rajasthan Royals, Sreesanth was banned by the BCCI’s disciplinary committee after IPL 2013 along with Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila after having been accused of spot-fixing.

However, in August this year, the Kerala High Court ordered the BCCI to lift the life ban on Sreesanth, reasoning that he had been acquitted of all charges by the Delhi Police in 2015.

The heart of the matter

Ever since the ban was lifted on Sreesanth, the 34-year-old, who took to acting during his time away from the game, started training in full spirit, and received whole-hearted support from the Kerala Cricket Association. Their secretary, Jayesh George, today told media outlets that the trend will now be broken as the decision of the court would have to be respected.

Chief Justice Navniti Prasad Singh, and his division bench court, heard the case for two days, and decided that they could not conduct a review on the life ban that had been imposed on the bowler by the country’s cricket board.

Anyway all I have is my family and lots of dear ones who still believes in me..I will keep fighting and make sure I don't give up..

— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) October 17, 2017

This is the worst decision ever..special rule for me?what about real culprits?What about chennai super kings ? And what about Rajasthan ?

— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) October 17, 2017

And what about the accused 13 names in Lodha report?? No one wants to know about it?i will keep fighting for my right..God is great ?????

— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) October 17, 2017

Sreesanth himself took to Twitter to express his extreme disappointment at the turn of events, but promised to ‘fight for his right’.

What’s next?

Sreesanth’s chances of making a comeback appear extremely bleak now: his only option is to approach the apex court to try and revise the verdict.

Author’s take

The topsy-turvy saga of one of Indian cricket’s most controversial characters continues: a glimmer of hope arose when the life ban on him was lifted in August, but the latest development has all but put an end to any chances of him making a return.

Whatever transpires, one cannot forget how potent a pacer Sreesanth was in his prime. Whether he gets relief or not, the greasy muck that he has been dragging along for the past half a decade serves as a heady lesson for every budding cricketer to stay away from the dark side of the game and remain squeaky clean.