Former India pacer S Sreesanth took to Twitter to make a big announcement that he would be making his return to domestic cricket and has been included in Kerala's preliminary squad for the Ranji Trophy. Speaking via video, the 38-year-old thanked fans for their support and stated that it was great to "be back in the whites again". "Hi! Good afternoon and thank you very much for the love and support. Its great to be back in the whites again, bowling red ball, that too for my state where it all started", he said.
"I'm really excited just like the U19 boy who got the red ball for the first time", he concluded.
Here is the video:
The announcement was well-received by fans with many congratulating him.
Sreesanth will be making a return to red-ball cricket after nearly nine years. He last played a first-class match in 2013 and also served a seven-year suspension for his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. His ban ended on September 13, 2020.
Sachin Baby will be captaining the Kerala squad for the Ranji Trophy and the preliminary squad also includes the likes of Basil Thampi, Anand Joseph.
Kerala's Ranji Trophy fixtures start on January 13 against Vidarbha, followed by Bengal (January 20), Rajasthan (January 27), Tripura (February 3) and Haryana (February 10).
Kerala Ranji Trophy probables: Sachin Baby (capt), Vishnu Vinod (vice-capt & wk), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumal, Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Sanju Samson, Jalaj Saxena, Sijomon Joseph, Akshay K C, Mithun S, Basil N P, Nideesh M D, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi, Fanoos F, S Sreesanth, Akshay Chandran, Varun Nayanar (wk), Anand Joseph, Vinoop Manoharan, Arun M, Vaishak Chandran.