Cricketer Sreesanth reveals details about his 2013 IPL spot fixing controversy for the first time

Former India and Rajasthan Royals pacer Sreesanth, who was banned by BCCI’s disciplinary committee and also arrested by the Delhi police on charges of spot-fixing during the sixth edition of Indian Premier League in 2013, has finally opened up about the much talked about scandal and revealed that the allegations leveled against him were untrue.

Sreesanth revealed in a recent interview with a sports portal that he wouldn’t think about fixing a match for Rs 10 lakh, when in fact, he used to pay only Rs 2 lakh for his parties. He reportedly said, “This is the first interview in which I am sharing or explaining it. It was supposed to be one over and 14-plus runs. I bowled four balls for five runs. No no-ball, no wide and not a single slower ball in an IPL game. I was bowling at 130-plus after 12 surgeries on my toe. I had played the Irani Trophy and was looking to play the South African series, so that we can win in September 2013. We were going early, and it moves better in September.”

The pacer added, “My goal was to play that series. A person like that, why would I do it, that too for 10 lakhs?, I am not talking big but I used to have bills of around 2 lakh when I partied around. I used to pay with my card not cash. If I had so much of cash, I would have been spraying it out. In fact, I used to take care of even a normal person. In my life, I have only helped and given belief. I have helped a lot of people, and those prayers helped me get out of this. All I would ask is – two balls, five runs, two balls to go. How would I give away all that I had invested? No way.” Sreesanth, who played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is in his career, has claimed a total of 169 international wickets.”

After he was cleared of all charges on September 13 last year following a seven year ban by the BCCI, Sreesanth returned to competitive cricket earlier this year and participated in the Vijay Hazare trophy as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He played five matches for Kerala, taking four wickets at a strike rate of 27 and an economy rate of 9.88.