The Kerala High Court, on 7 August, ordered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to lift the lifetime ban on cricketer S Sreesanth – that was imposed on him after he was accused of spot fixing in 2013.
The cricketer approached the court in March challenging BCCI's decision against lifting the ban, despite a Delhi court exonerating him of all spot fixing charges in 2015.
The Indian cricket board has barred the cricketer from playing any form of the sport. The Kerala cricketer was arrested in the midst of the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was lodged in Tihar jail.
The 34-year-old had written to former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai in February 2016, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), seeking justice as he has lost four years.
On account of the life ban, Sreesanth couldn’t play even league cricket nor get access even for practice to any of the cricket grounds where the BCCI or the State Cricket Associations have a stake.
It was the BCCI Disciplinary Committee headed by the present Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that slapped a life ban on Sreesanth.
Sreesanth is only the second Keralite to represent the country and in his brief career he has played in 27 Tests taking 87 wickets, and picked up 75 wickets from 53 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and seven wickets from 10 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
BCCI's legal team to study order, Kerala CA backs Sreesanth
The BCCI said it will adopt a wait-and-watch policy on pacer S Sreesanth, even as the cricketer's state association welcomed the reprieve.
Asked about the BCCI's stand, acting president CK Khanna said, "The judgement has come today. The BCCI's legal team will study the judgement and give its observations. Obviously, their feedback will be taken and placed at an appropriate forum (general body)."
The Kerala Cricket Association said it's happy with the development.
"We were right behind Sreesanth from day one. We were in Delhi during those days (arrest and subsequent court hearings) when he endured a lot. Now that High Court has given a verdict, hopefully, normalcy will return in his life. We would love to see him back in Kerala shirt," KCA secretary Jayesh George told PTI.
The KCA, though, remained apprehensive about the BCCI's stand.
"Look, two years back, we had appealed to the BCCI requesting to lift Sreesanth's ban after lower court in Delhi exonerated him of all spot-fixing charges. The BCCI then decided to stick to life ban. Now that Kerala High Court has given the verdict, the BCCI may think of appealing to Supreme Court. We don't know what will be their stand," George said.
(With PTI and IANS inputs.)
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)