Sreesanth dreams of Ranji return

His life ban reduced to seven years, tainted pacer S Sreesanth on Tuesday expressed his desire to play for Kerala in Ranji Trophy, while harbouring a far-fetched dream to once again don the national jersey.

S Sreesanth. Photograph: Reuters/File

Sreesanth, who was arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of spot-fixing during the 2013 IPL and was banned for life by the BCCI, challenged the punishment.

After the ban was overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year, the BCCI referred the matter to its Ombudsman D K Jain, who, in turn, reduced it to seven years, the sanction period now ending in 2020.

"I am very happy with the decision. I would like to make a comeback to the Kerala Ranji team and contribute to the team's victory. I would start training from next month. Youngsters from Kerala are doing well and that's an inspiration," Sreesanth told reporters here.

"I hope I will be able to come back into the Indian Test team. I have taken 87 wickets in Test cricket. 13 more wickets are required to reach 100 wickets," he said.

However, his ambition to don the national colours seemed a bit impractical considering that Indian cricket has moved on since he last played international cricket eight years ago. By the time he is free to play, he will be well past 37 years.