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Fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth made a return to competitive cricket on Monday, January 11, 2020, playing for his home state Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Sreesanth bagged his first wicket in seven years as he announced his return to competitive cricket in the match against Puducherry.
'Thanks a lot for all the support and love...it's just the beginning...with all of your wishes and prayers many many many more to go... lots of respect to you and family.... #blessed #humbled #BCCI #india #nevergiveup,' Sreesanth, who turns 38 on February 6, tweeted.
Sreesanth castled Fabid Ahmed in the fourth over to reduce Puducherry to 26/2. He bowled in full flow and finished with figures of 1-29.
Puducherry scored 138 runs in their allotted 20 overs with Ashith Rajiv top-scoring for the side.
Off-spinner Jalaj Saxena was the pick of the Kerala bowlers as he bagged three wickets while giving away just 13 runs.
Kerala chased down the target with 10 balls to spare on the back of an all-round batting performance.
Skipper Sanju Samson top-scored with 32 runs while Robin Uthappa hit 21 off 12 balls. Robin and Sanju play for Kerala in domestic cricket and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Sreesanth was banned by the BCCI in August 2013 along with his Rajasthan Royals team-mates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan for indulging in spot-fixing in the IPL.
His lifetime ban was reduced to seven years and ended last August making him eligible to return to competitive cricket.