Feb. 8: A couple of weeks ago, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was busy composing a song to cheer on Team India’s cricket team in the World Cup with his band S-36. The song was his way of dealing with the pain of being left out of the 15-man national squad.
It doesn’t take long though for a cricketer’s life to turn around. Praveen Kumar’s misfortune with a continuing elbow injury turned out to be boon for Sreesanth with the latter earning his much-coveted berth in the World Cup squad.
With Praveen failing to recover from a problematic right elbow, the Board of Control for Cricket in India named Sreesanth as his replacement, which was subsequently approved by the International Cricket Council.
“The national selectors have picked Sreesanth as Praveen Kumar’s replacement in the Indian team for the tournament. The ICC has confirmed that Praveen Kumar can be replaced in the squad by S. Sreesanth,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Kerala paceman was delighted by his surprise recall to the side. “It’s every cricketer’s dream to represent his country in the World Cup. Winning the 2007 World T20 Championships is one of my most cherished memories. I hope we can replicate that feat in the 50-over format as well,” Sreesanth told this newspaper, speaking from Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Praveen picked up the injury during the one-off T20 match against South Africa prior to the ODI series and was sent back to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He was also rushed to London to take advice from eminent surgeon Andrew Wallace, who had treated Sachin Tendulkar in the past.
“I am just thankful to God for this opportunity. I will look to put my best foot forward and perform whatever role is assigned to me,” Sreesanth said.
The temperamental pacer bowled impressively in the couple of ODIs he played against New Zealand late last year. The 28-year-old claimed seven wickets in the two matches at an average of just 11 with a best of 4/47.
In a five-year career till date, Sreesanth has 75 wickets from 51 ODIs at an average of 32.04. His economy rate remains a major concern at 6.01. “I have been training hard over the last week at the NCA and I am feeling confident about my form,” he said.
Sreesanth on song is an asset for any team and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be hoping that his pacer can make the opposition dance to his tunes. The other changes approved by the technical committee were for Australia — off-spinner Jason Krejza replacing fellow-tweaker Nathan Hauritz and Callum Ferguson taking the place of injured middle-order stalwart Michael Hussey.
The technical committee of the World Cup consists of David Richardson (ICC, chairman), Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (tournament director), Campbell Jamieson (IDI representative), Anil Kumble (host nominee), David Lloyd (independent nomination) and Sanjay Manjrekar (independent nomination).
India face Bangladesh in the tournament opener in Mirpur, Dhaka, on February 19, while Australia take on Zimbabwe in their first match at Ahmedabad on February 21.