The Board of Control for Cricket in India, did not rule out the possibility of appealing in the Supreme Court, against the decision of the Kerala High Court, to lift the life – time ban on Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. The High Court on Monday cleared Sreesanth of all the charges and ordered the BCCI to lift the ban.
When asked about the next move, the acting president of the BCCI, CK Khanna said, “The judgement has come today. The BCCI’s legal team will study the judgement and give it’s observations. Obviously, their feedback will be taken and placed at an appropriate forum.”
Sreesanth, was banned from playing cricket at an international or club level for lifetime, after he was involved in a match spot-fixing scandal during the 2013 edition of the IPL. The speedster was playing for Rajasthan Royals, when the Delhi police arrested him along with teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, for their alleged role in match- fixing.
Although a Delhi session court later cleared Sreesanth of the charges in 2015, the BCCI decied to uphold it’s ban on the player, leading Sreesanth to file a petition against the board in the Kerala High Court.
The order to lift the ban comes as a huge relief to Sreesanth, as he looks to make a comeback into cricket. He was a part of the 2007 T-20 World Cup victorious team and also the 2011 World Cup winning team.
The Kerala State Cricket Association showed their full support for the bowler. “We were right behind Sreesanth from day one. We were in Delhi during those days (when he was arrested) when he endured a lot. Now that the High Court has given a verdict, hopefully, normalcy will return in his life. We will love to see him back in a Kerala shirt,” the Association secretary Jayesh George told PTI.
“He is 34 years and has not played for last four years. Obviously, with his talent and experience, he is an asset for Kerala Ranji team. We now have pacers like Basil Thampi, Sandip Warrier. If Sree is around, obviously they can gain from his experience, ” added George.
However, when asked about the BCCI’s next action plan, even the State Association didn’t sound confident. “Look, two years back, we had appealed to the BCCI requesting to lift Sreesanth’s ban after lower court in Delhi exonerated him of all spot-fixing charges. The BCCI then decided to stick to life ban. Now that Kerala High Court has given it’s verdict, the BCCI may think of appealing to the Supreme Court. We don’t know what will be their stand, ” said George in confused tone.