Happy Birthday Sreesanth: Top Six Controversies From Spot Fixing, Harbhajan Singh’s Slap To The Hilarious Dance

The fast-bowler from Kerala was perhaps India’s best in 2007-08. His career went down-hill when his name came up in the 2013 IPL scandal. Sree has troubled many batsman, not just with his bowling, but also through his actions. Here is a list of the top controversies of the fast-bowler.

Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth, popularly known as S Sreesanth turned 38 on Saturday. He was born on 6 February 1983. Grappled by the various controversies in life, we only knew Sreesanth’s out swingers and that he would celebrate each wicket with the same passion for the game.  Recently, Sreesanth was back to playing cricket. He played for Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He didn’t impress many with his performance but at least the cricketer is back to sports after trying his luck in acting, dancing and reality shows.

His life is not bereft of controversies. Sreesanth who looked to be India’s premier bowler, especially after his performance in the 2007 T20 World Cup, went down in a dramatic fashion. Here are some of the controversies from the fast-bowlers life:

1) Harbhajan Singh ‘Slap’ during an IPL game: Sreesanth was slapped by veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh after an IPL game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in 2008. It was later found out that Sreesanth had said “Hard-luck, Bhajji Pa” in a sarcastic tone after Mumbai Indians lost the match to Punjab.

2) Dancing after hitting a six: This incident happened in 2006 during a Test match between India and South Africa. Sreesanth was batting and facing SA fast-bowler Andre Nel who was constantly sledging him. Next ball, Sreesanth hit Nel for a huge six over the long-off fence after which he did an incredibly hilarious dance.

3) Spot-fixing scandal 2013: IPL 2013 was surrounded by allegations of spot fixing and Sreesanth was at the center of these allegations. He was to do some stretching and then hang a towel out of his trousers before going to bowl. He was said to be involved in the scandal with a certain Jiju Janardhan.

 

Sreesanth after the spot fixing scandal of 2013. (Photo/ AFP Manan Vatsyayana)

4) Reaction after picking up Symonds in 2007: In an ODI series dominated by Australia and with tensions between the Indian and Aussie players on a high, Sreesanth’s reaction after picking the wicket of Andrew Symonds was priceless.

5) Bigg Boss Stint: Sreesanth was also part of the reality show Bigg Boss in 2018. Here, he was seen picking fights with his co-contestants including Karan Vir Bora.

6) Beamer to Pietersen and Vaughan in the same match: Sreesanth bowled two beamers which could have injured the English players Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan for which he was charged with 50% of his match-fee.

So, these were six of Sreesanth’s big controversies on and off-the pitch. Tell us if we missed out on any. We wish Sreesanth a Happy 38^th Birthday and hope the star shines more in the world of cricket and showbiz.