Sreesanth castles batsman with screamer for first wicket in 7 years; holds back emotions

Kerala pacer S Sreesanth, who made a return to competitive cricket after more than 7 years on Monday, castled Puducherry batsman, Fabid Ahmed, in ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Mumbai. 37-year old was named in Kerala squad for national T20 competition last month. He bagged his first wicket in seven years as he anunced his return to competitive cricket in style. 

In match against Puducherry, Sreesanth in fourth over bowled his famous outswinger which opening right-hander missed and ended up watching his stumps fly. Sreesanth was banned by Board of Contol for Cricket in India (BCCI) in August 2013 along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan for indulging in alleged spot-fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL).

'It's just beginning' 

However, last year, his lifetime ban was reduced to seven years, which got over in September last year. Indian seamer finished with figures of 1-29. Puducherry scored 138 runs in ir allotted 20 overs with Ashith Rajiv top-scoring for side. Kerala comfortably chased down target with 6 wickets in hand and 10 balls remaining.  Kerala has been placed in Elite Group E alongside Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Puducherry and will play its matches in Wankhede stadium

Sharing video of wicket he took, Sreesanth thanked his fans for all support and love and said that "it is just beginning."

Sreesanth, who was part of triumphant Indian squads in 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup has played 27 Tests and 53 ODIs for India, taking 87 and 75 wickets respectively. He has also taken seven wickets in 10 T20 Internationals. Last month, he had posted a video that showed him receiving his state cap with Kerala teammates and administrators around. 

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Earlier, Sreesanth was set to play in KCA President's Cup T20 but tournament was deferred as KCA did t get government d due to COVID-19 pandemic. fast bowler believes he is capable of playing 2023 World Cup and has been vocal about it.

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(With ANI inputs)