Sreesanth 'sacked' by Royals before spot-fixing allegations

On his knees

Beleaguered cricketer S. Sreesanth was “sacked” from Rajasthan Royals before the game against Mumbai Indians on May 15 due to his escalating tantrums in recent days following his exclusion from the playing eleven, according to a team official close to the Jaipur-based franchise.

However, the official confirmed that the former India bowler’s exclusion from the team was due to his poor on and off-field display, and not because of any suspicion relating to spot-fixing.

The insider, speaking on the basis of anonymity, also revealed that Sreesanth was upset at being left out of the playing eleven, and insisted Royals’ captain Rahul Dravid to play him as he was the best medium-pacer in the country.

He said: “We had no idea that spot-fixing was happening. He was asked to leave because he had been throwing tantrums for the past few days. This spot-fixing thing hit us out of the blue.“

“At that time, we thought he was just frustrated at having to sit out. Now, as we look back, we realize that perhaps he was doing that under pressure from bookies.” the official further added.

 Dravid’s reluctance

It is believed that skipper Dravid was very reluctant to play the pacer in the match against KXIP on May 9, but Sreesanth managed to keep his place in the side and went onto entertain the bookies with his towel act.

Some official sources also confirmed that the pacer was thrown out of the team before their match against MI on 15th May due to his increasing tantrums.

“He had been asked to leave the team hotel in Jaipur itself,” the official said.

There were some doubts regarding Chandila’s intentions too.

“Probably they could smell something fishy. But because there was no concrete proof, they didn’t drop these guys,” an another source added.

 

Source- THE TIMES OF INDIA