Watch: S Sreesanth reacts after his exclusion from IPL 2021 Auction shortlist
Veteran Indian pacer S Sreesanth has kept his spirits high despite his exclusion from the shortlist of players for the IPL 2021 Auction. The 38-year-old stated that he is not going to give up and will work hard on his game.
The veteran pacer took to Instagram and, in a live video, thanked all his fans for supporting him. He revealed that although he is a bit disappointed to miss out, he has certainly not lost hope and will continue to put in the hard yards.
The pacer gave the example of Chris Gayle, who went unsold at the IPL 2011 Auction. The left-handed batsman later took the tournament by storm after being named as a replacement in the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad. S Sreesanth sounded hopeful about featuring in the IPL again, if not this year then next.
S Sreesanth and the spot-fixing scandal
S Sreesanth, along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, were banned for life from playing competitive cricket after allegations of being involved in a spot-fixing scandal.
Although the fast bowler pleaded not guilty, he still had to wait seven years before making his comeback to competitive cricket. Sreesanth's ban finally ended in September 2020 and he featured for Kerala in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
According to reports, S Sreesanth was one among 1114 players who had registered themselves for the IPL 2021 Auction and had set his base price at ₹75 lakh. However, his name was not present in the final shortlist of 292 players that the BCCI announced on Friday.
While not being present on the shortlist would surely be a setback for the Kerala pacer, his focus will now be on doing well for his team in the upcoming season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has vowed to never give up and work towards his goal of playing for Team India again.