Cricketer S. Sreesanth has revealed that former India players Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar had a big part to play in bringing out his best performance during India’s tour of South Africa in 2006. India had recorded their first Test win in South Africa during the tour.
Sreesanth said that during the tour, then India captain Ganguly would take the fast bowler to bowl in the nets before anyone else. The pacer revealed that he wasn’t good against left-handed batsmen, but learned to fine-tune his technique after bowling to Ganguly.
“I still remember we had a tour match in Potchefstroom before the Test series. Sourav Ganguly was making a comeback into the team and he would take me out early to the nets before anyone. I wasn’t too good against the left-handers and bowling those lengthy spells to Dada in the nets helped me a lot,” Sreesanth said in an interview.
The Kerala bowler went on to take eight wickets in the Johannesberg Test, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Sreesanth received the Man of the Match award.
Tendulkar also helped him better his bowling technique, Sreesanth said, adding bowling against legends in the nets made him a better bowler. He took 18 wickets in the three-match series.
“If you notice, I bowled quite well to the South African left-handers, especially Graeme Smith. After every wicket, I would go to Sachin paaji, because he too would keep telling me from mid-off or mid-on where to bowl. I was the Man of the Match, but it was all because of these legends,” he said.
“I didn’t know India had never won a Test in South Africa and it was only later that I got to know. I used to bowl against these legends in the nets and that made me the bowlers I was,” Sreesanth said.
However, Sreesanth’s career was cut short after he was banned for life for his alleged role in spot-fixing in the 2013 Indian Premier League. He has expressed his desire to play for India again after a Supreme Court order scrapped the life ban last year.
