Guest prince Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 For once, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has been gracious in ‘defeat’. The World Cup snub did hurt, but Indian cricket’s enfant terrible has kept his emotions in check. Barring a few posts on Twitter — which bordered on philosophy, hopefulness and optimism — he’s been rather quiet. Now that’s surprising. Picture this: Neither did he bowl badly in South Africa — well, he played a major role in India’s victory at Durban — nor did he bring disrepute to the ‘Gentleman’s Game’. The only black spot was, perhaps, his run-in with rival skipper Graeme Smith. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India firmly stood behind the young pacer. In fact, a top official said Smith was “whiningâ€. So basically, Sree did no wrong. Why then was he not picked for the quadrennial showpiece? At least two former India skippers — Bishen Singh Bedi and Sourav Ganguly — have been left wondering. But surprisingly, Sreesanth has an answer. And no, it isn’t a controversial one. “See, Zaheer (Khan) paaji and Ashish (Nehra) paaji have been bowling well over a period of time. And the way Munaf (Patel) has improved, he deserved to be picked ahead of me. Just look at his graph. It looks like a computer graphic. He’s been bowling in the right areas. I must say Munaf deserved a spot in the World Cup squad more than I did. And I respect the selectors’ decision. They couldn’t have picked any more pacers. But I will continue to work hard. It’s not the end of the world,†he told DNA in one breath on Saturday. For the first few days after the team was announced, the only way to get in touch with a ‘dropped’ Sreesanth, one learnt, is by becoming one of his 70,000-odd ‘followers’ on the micro-blogging site. The endeavour was a success. “I dealt with it (snub) pretty well. Barring a few posts on Twitter, I was fine. I have always been an optimistic person. I look forward in life. Bygones are bygones,†he says. So how did his mates comfort him? “Most of them consoled me. I have realised that life isn’t a plate of sweets. It’s good that I have learnt it the hardest possible way. Life is a graph and a graph goes up and down. It’s never a straight line. I have to work harder. Period,†comes another ‘philosophical’ reply. On to some serious stuff, Sree reckons India have a superb attack — even if it’s sans him. “Zaheer is bowling well, so is Ashish. I don’t have to tell you about Munaf’s form. All three have featured in past World Cup squads and they know how to handle pressure.†The key to bowling well on Indian wickets, he says, is to be patient. “You’ve got to be patient. Rewards don’t come easily on such pitches. But (MS) Dhoni is a brilliant captain and I am sure he will speak to the pacers and formulate plans,†Sree says. The World Cup lasts over a month and call-ups during the tournament are a given. But Sree comes up with another surprising reply. “I genuinely hope no one gets injured. I know the pain of (sitting out with an injury). I had an 18-month layoff (back injury) once. You must know I am a fan of Indian cricket. I too want my team to win the World Cup. I’ll be training hard at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. I’ll also be playing for Kerala (Vijay Hazare Trophy) and Deodhar Trophy (South Zone). I’ll be busy but I’ll watch India’s matches.†Sree reckons Brett Lee will play a major role in the World Cup. “The guy is fresh and can be lethal even on Indian wickets. Of course, Zaheer will play a crucial part. And so will Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh). Shaun Tait is also capable of troubling batsmen, provided he remains injury-free. And don’t forget Muttiah Muralitharan. The Lankans are playing most of their matches at home and Murali can be dangerous on those tracks.†And like every Indian, Sree, too, hopes India can go all the way. “The team is perfectly balanced. The final will be played at the Wankhede and I am sure we will win the World Cup.†http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_i-feel-munaf-patel-deserved-world-cup-selection-more-sreesanth_1501123
jibranpatel15 Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Sree u deserve to be in WC 2011 for PIYUSH CHAWLA/ASHISH NEHRA.
yoda Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Poor guy. I do agree that Munaf is a better choice than him. Chawla isn't a good choice period, we should be having another batting option in his place, IMO.
Ram Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Seriously? World cup spot for Sreesanth? At one point last year, Sreesanth had the ignominy of being the most expensive bowler (of all specialist bowlers who have bowled certain number of overs in ODIs), in the combined history of 2000+ ODIs. There’s no other way to describe this , but he’s a TERRIBLE ODI bowler. You never know what to expect from him. For others, a bad over is when you concede 10-12 runs. But Sreesanth’s bad overs are upwards of 17-18 runs an over. You can literally count using the fingers of one hand, all his worthwhile performances in ODIs. But for his bad performance? You probably need the fingers of your friends, family, distant relatives, sworn enemies etc.
daryl1985 Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Gracious response from Sreesanth. I hope he continues to work hard and concentrate on bowling because he can become a very important player for India.
CG Posted February 1, 2011 Posted February 1, 2011 Seriously? World cup spot for Sreesanth? At one point last year' date=' Sreesanth had the ignominy of being the most expensive bowler (of all specialist bowlers who have bowled certain number of overs in ODIs), in the combined history of 2000+ ODIs. There’s no other way to describe this , but he’s a TERRIBLE ODI bowler. You never know what to expect from him. For others, a bad over is when you concede 10-12 runs. But Sreesanth’s bad overs are upwards of 17-18 runs an over. You can literally count using the fingers of one hand, all his worthwhile performances in ODIs. But for his bad performance? You probably need the fingers of your friends, family, distant relatives, sworn enemies etc.[/quote'] On those wickets in not that sreesanth was only going for runs others were also hammered and atleast he got wickets,his last odi performances- 1-in australia vb series -he was good 2-comeback against srilanka -he was good 3-Sa odi-He was average 4-Nz-he was by far our best bolwer There is no logic as nehra and kumar also go for same and do not take wickets.
Ram Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 On those wickets in not that sreesanth was only going for runs others were also hammered and atleast he got wickets,his last odi performances- 1-in australia vb series -he was good 2-comeback against srilanka -he was good 3-Sa odi-He was average 4-Nz-he was by far our best bolwer There is no logic as nehra and kumar also go for same and do not take wickets. You have obviously not seen Sreesanth bowl in ODIs that much, else you wouldn’t be saying the things you’re saying. And please save yourselves the trouble of scouting around scorecards to handpick the occasional match where his figures look half-decent. Trust me, you can do that for any bowler who has ever held a ball in his hand. But, it doesn’t change the fact that Sreesanth simply does not have the temperament to be a Limited Overs international bowler. He simply doesn’t GET the concept of maybe taking a step back and bowling at half-throttle to contain the situation. There’s only one he knows to bowl and that is to bowl all-out. While trait proves to be an invaluable asset to him in test matches (which by immediate inference, makes him an immediate pick for our test squad), it has, time and again, proven to be a massive liability for him in ODIs. I have seen him bowl utter nonsense from one end, even as the bowlers from the other are trying their hearts out, to contain the situation. In a span of one over, he can literally destroy the momentum built up in the previous 5 overs and change the momentum of the game completely. In short, he’s a captain’s worst nightmare.
hari504504 Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 get better and become a permanent fixture in all formats (except T20..don't care who bowls in that one) Sreesanth. Good luck !
Holysmoke Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 dude, he's only saying this coz he's happy he's gonna be banging riya sen for the next couple of months
Watson87 Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 sree's ma boy, honest cricketer, and a decent human being
maniac Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 That's the spirit Sree. I don't see why people criticize his attitude.Some times he gets too emotional but I expect Sree to give more than a a Nehra or Munaf while bowling or fielding
pensionplan Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 As they say good things happen to those who wait. And here SS gets an entry into the Indian WC side replacing the 117kmph trundler Praveen Kumar. :-)
vishalvirsingh Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 dude' date=' he's only saying this coz he's happy he's gonna be banging riya sen for the next couple of months[/quote'] yep u r right
desi pride 1234 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 :giggle::giggle::giggle::giggle: dabang is back.............woooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwww...............
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