Sreesanth: I was not rude or arrogant on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa

'I really wanted to win this show or at least be in the top three.'

S Sreesanth bids adieu to Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa.

Former Indian cricketer Sreesanth said his outburst on Jhalak Dikhha Jaa was due to his back injury and a bad performance during the face-off with celebrity contestant, Pooja Banerjee. This resulted in his elimination from the dance reality show.

The judges had been critical of his performance and Sreesanth reacted badly. He claims he was in pain and that is why he reacted as he did.

“I was performing with a martial arts weapon in the elimination round. As I swung it around, it hit my back very hard. I was in a lot of pain for the next 45 seconds of the act.

“Since the show was being shot live, I didn’t know if I should stop the performance or carry on. There were these thoughts in my head and it showed. May be if I had got a five-minute break I could have performed better.

“I have to accept it as the contract says that you have to leave when you are eliminated.”

Sreesanth wasn't happy that he was placed among the bottom two performers of the week. He was also surprised that the elimination round was shot first, which does not happen normally.

“I was not all there and really didn't mean to behave that way or upset anybody. I respect all the three judges very much. It's because of the pain that I wanted to get out of the set,” he said.

He says after he got relief from medication he immediately sent a text to one of the judges, Remo D’Souza.

“I told him I didn't mean to behave that way and asked him to communicate my message to Karan (Johar) sir and Madhuri (Dixit) ma'am too.

“I was not rude or arrogant, but I was disappointed as I could not pull off my act especially during the face off.”

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Sreesanth said the show has helped him get back his lost self-confidence after he was banned from cricket by the BCCI for spot fixing in the Indian Premier League.

“I came on the show with the message of hope. I’ve missed being in a competitive set-up for several months and this show gave me an opportunity to compete again.  It was a great confidence booster for me," he said.

Sreesanth says that he was disappointed because “I really wanted to win this show or at least be in the top three. Despite injuries, I performed and I never spoke about my injuries. Even now, I hope I get a chance through wild-card entry.”

Sreesanth says his wife is disheartened that he was not able to continue, “I could not be on the show till the end. She would have loved to see me as the winner.”

His wife is good friends with Pooja Banerjee and he himself “bonded with Karan Tacker because of the common interest in football.

“I got to know some amazing people and I will continue to remain friends with them,” he said.

The cricketer is now looking forward to being involved in films. He is working on a Tamil-Telugu bilingual, Anbukkum Azhage where he debuts as a music composer.

“I thought I would be on the dance reality show till the end so I asked the makers to begin the film in October. Now, I will just have to wait for it as the film cannot be preponed," Sreesanth signs off.