New Delhi: After the Kerala High Court restored the life ban imposed on S.Sreesanth, the speedster hinted at the fact that he might turn up for some other country in international cricket purely because of his love for the gentleman’s game.
But BCCI acting president CK Khanna was quick to respond as he made things clear saying that the Kerala pacer cannot play for any other country according to the ICC rules.
“Any player banned by his parent body cannot play for any other country, ICC rules very clear,” said Khanna. “Rules, regulations and the legal position is quite clear.”
Prior to this, Sreesanth in an interview on the sidelines of an event in Dubai had said, “BCCI has imposed the ban, not ICC. If not India, I can play for any other country, because am 34 now and I can only play for maximum six more years. As a person who loves cricket, I want to play cricket. And not only that, BCCI is a private firm; it is only us who say that this is the Indian team, but you know BCCI is a private body after all. So, if I play for any other country, it probably may be the same. Yes, representing Kerala in Ranji Trophy is different. I had hoped to win Ranji Trophy, Irani for Kerala, but the decision rests up on the BCCI.”
Sreesanth was handed a life ban in the year 2013 due to spot-fixing charges during the IPL. On 18th September, a single bench of the Kerala High Court had asked the BCCI to lift the life ban imposed on the paceman as it felt that the BCCI was wrong to say that Sreesanth’s acquittal by a Delhi court in 2015 didn’t matter.
But the court on Tuesday restored the life ban on Sreesanth after an appeal was made by the BCCI.
The angry pacer took to Twitter to express his discontent, calling it as the, ‘worst decision ever’. He didn’t end here as he went on to question the return of banned IPL teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, both of whom were handed two-year suspensions after their owners were found to be involved in corrupt practices.
The 34-year-old also had tweeted that he would keep on fighting and also asked about the Lodha report to the Supreme Court which had 13 names related to the spot-fixing episode.
“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,” read Sreesanth’s tweet on Tuesday.