India has recently equipped itself with a number of young fast and medium pace bowlers, thanks to the MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai whose chief coach is the legendary Australian fast bowler, the great Dennis Lillee.
Currently the India’s younger crop of pace attack includes, Zakeer Khan, Ashis Nehra,S.Sreesanth,Ishant Sharma,Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar.All these bowlers provide Indian Cricket team,a variety and choice,to choose from.
The medium pacer from Kerala,Santha Kumaran Sreesanth,aged 25,who was added to the Indian team,a few years ago, is one of our main strike bowlers both in tests and in one day inter-national matches.
Sreesanth was instrumental in clinching the test series in the year 2006, in the West Indies and also to score our first test victory in South Africa. Sreesanth was also instrumental in India’s first Twenty Twenty tournament victory held in South Africa in the year 2007 and in the one-off twenty-twenty match and ODI home series against Australia. But, being an youngster Sreesanth had behaved rather in a rustic manner and his temperament had been haughty and imperious especially against the Australians in South Africa and again in India, during the one-off 20-20 match and in the ODI series.
The Australians in fact had got offended because of the overreaction and the antics of Sreesanth in the course of the above said matches and in fact were eagerly awaiting for an opportunity to repay him when he went to Australia.The media both in India and Australia and the Indian selectors were also critical of his onfield behaviour and the BCCI even threatened him to slap a ban on him if he failed to mend his onfield behaviour.
But when Sreesanth was chosen by the selectors for the triangular CBS One day International series that was held recently in Australia during February, 2008, Australians were also eagerly awaiting for an opportunity to rebuff against Sreekanth.But Sreesanth during the CB ODI series held in Australia, had surprisingly behaved very mildly and particularly avoided his outbursts and antics and never crossed his limits. Though India’s Australian test and ODI series had plagued by controversies, Sreesanth had never been a subject of controversy and in fact his sublime onfield behaviour has been acclaimed by Australian players like Gilchrist and the Australian press as well.
Sreesanth himself came out openely to list out the reasons for his sublime and refined behaviour during the above CB series. Prior to his tour of Australia he had practiced yoga and meditation to control his behaviour. Above all he was also afraid of facing the ICC ban of three to four matches for his online behaviour.The foremost reason might be that now India had a crop of fast and medium pacers in surplus and in case of his omission India had other choices.
Therefore,the transformation of Sreesanth is a good omen both for the welfare of Sreesanth as well as for the Indian cricket team.
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