Sreesanth roped in by Kerala for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as speedster eyes comeback

With his eyes set on an international comeback, 37-year-old Sreesanth has been named in Kerala's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Tournament paving his way into the domestic circle. The right-arm speedster will be playing along with Sachin Baby, Basil Thampi and Robin Uthappa under the captainship of Sanju Samson. Sreesanth's inclusion into the Kerala squad marks his return to competitive cricket after being away for 7 years. 

The veteran speedster shared a video of him receiving the Kerala cap on Wednesday afternoon with a caption that read, "There is nothing stronger than a broken man, who has rebuilt himself."

Previously, Sreesanth was roped in to play the T20 league organized by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). He was also seen bowling in the nets along with the Kerala Ranji team. Apart from Sreesanth, Sachin Baby, Basil Thampi, Rohan Prem, Midhun S, and Asif K M are other prominent names are said to feature in the T20 tournament.  

READ | Raina Extends Wishes To Sreesanth As Pacer Returns To Competitive Cricket After 7 Years

India pacer S Sreesanth's ban for alleged spot-fixing came to an end on September 13, concluding a seven-year punishment that was originally meant to be for life and was aggressively contested by the flamboyant bowler. 

Sreesanth's life ban for alleged spot-fixing in the 2013 edition of the IPL was reduced to seven years by BCCI Ombudsman DK Jain last year. Jain had observed that the cricketer is well past his prime having already served six years. The BCCI banned Sreesanth in August 2013 along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan. Sreesanth played 27 Tests and 53 ODIs for India, taking 87 and 75 wickets respectively. He has also taken seven wickets in 10 T20 Internationals.

READ | Sreesanth Set To Return To Competitive Cricket With T20 League After End Of 7-year Ban

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021

The domestic T20 tournament, which was earlier postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, will be played across seven venues under a biosecure environment. Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Vadodara, Kolkata and Indore will host the league matches of the competition. The knockout fixtures will be played at the newly built Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. The T20 tournament is scheduled to be played from January 10 to 31. 

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"By Saturday, January 2, 2021, teams will have to assemble in their respective hub. From Sunday, January 10, 2021, tournament will start and the final will be played on January 31, 2021," BCCI interim secretary Jay Shah had written to state associations. "BCCI will subsequently seek feedback from the members on organising any other domestic tournament after the group stage of Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy," he had stated.

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