22 Interesting Facts About S Sreesanth

India has produced some quality fast bowlers over the years but whenever we utter the term outswing in India, it has to be Santakumaran Sreesanth’s name. From 2005 to 2011, Sreesanth represented India in 90 international matches across all three formats. He used to swing the ball away from the right-handers with a decent pace of 135 kmph. The aggressive seamer had manifested 100 percent commitment and passion every time he went on the field for his nation. Especially, his dancing celebration was exuberant after every wicket. In his short career of 6 years, there are some interesting facts about S Sreesanth which may blow your mind. 

Interesting Facts About S Sreesanth

1. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was born on 6th February 1983 in Kothamangalam, Kerala to father Shanthakumaran Nair and mother Savithri Devi. 

2. Sreesanth has one brother and two sisters. His brother Dipu is an owner of a music company in Kochi. His oldest sister Nivedita works in the South Indian TV industry, while his elder sister is the wife of the famous South Indian artist, Madhu Balakrishnan.

3. In his childhood, he used to bowl leg-spinner aiming to be like the great Indian spinner Anil Kumble. But his yorker bowling tendency made him a fast bowler by the suggestion of his elder brother. 

4. His friends and teammates would call him “Sree” and “Gopu”. 

5. Sreesanth made his first-class debut for Kerala in 2002 against Goa, he finished the first Ranji event with 22 wickets in 7 matches.

6. The flamboyant fast bowler made everyone notice him when he took a hat-trick against Himachal Pradesh in the 2003-04 Ranji season. 

7. Sreesanth made his first appearance in international cricket in an ODI match against Srilanka in 2005, he scalped 2 wickets in his debut match. Eventually, Sreesanth ended his career with 75 wickets in 53 matches. 

8. Being the first player from Kerala to play T20I for India, Sreesanth was a member of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team. He grabbed 6 wickets in the competition in 7 matches with a decent economy of 7.95. 

9. Sreesanth made his debut in the longest format of the game in 2006 against England replacing Zaheer Khan in the side. He returned with 4/95 in his first test match bowling alongside Irfan Pathan. 

10. His most valuable execution in test cricket came in the 1st match of the 2006 South Africa tour at Johannesburg. With the help of Sree’s ferocious 5/40 in the 1st innings, India bowled South Africa out for 84 runs. The Proteas needed to make a comeback but 3 wickets from Sreesanth hurt again and India registered their first-ever test win in South Africa.   worth 

11. The worth watching moment for the fans in Sreesanth’s career was his dispute with African seamer Andre Nel. During the 2006 South Africa tour Andre Nel tried to hit Sree with the ball, bowling on his bodyline. Suddenly Nel told him that the next one will strike him on his chest. Sreesanth smacked the next ball over the bowler’s head for a six. Afterward, the aggressive dance celebration from the batsman made Nel furious. 

12. Due to a decline in form in 2006, Sreesanth tried to change his name in hope of improvement in his bowling as per the suggestion of an astrologer to “Sreesunth”. But later on, he confessed that he didn’t do it as the “Santh” portion of the name has been taken from his father’s name.

13. Sreesanth has played for various IPL franchises in his career. After a match won by Kings Xi Punjab in 2008 against Mumbai Indians, he was slapped by Harbhajan Singh post consoled with the word “Hard Luck”, which left Sreesanth in tears. It sparked controversy in the cricket fraternity. Then Harbhajan Singh issued an apology to Sree in the Punjab dressing room. 

14. In 2013, being accused of match-fixing, the Delhi police arrested Sreesanth along with his fellow Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chauhan. According to Delhi Police, he confessed about the match-fixing. But Sreesanth kept saying that he was forcefully signed the papers of fixing and is innocent. Finally, the Supreme Court of India gave the verdict in his favor in 2019, and the cricket ban on him ended on 13 September 2020. Following the ban lifting, he played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy & Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021 for Kerala. 

15. S Sreesanth played a few matches for the top county side Warwickshire in 2009.

16. Apart from being a cricketer, Sree is a good actor also. He has acted in few movies like Akshar 2, Team 5, Cabaret, and Kempe Gowda 2. He participated in the Indian dance show “Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina” too in 2008 with Indian actress Surveen Chawla.

17. In 2018, He became a part of the Indian reality show “Big Boss”. He finished the show as the runner. 

18. Sreesanth has tried his luck in politics also. He was a candidate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the 2016 Kerala Assembly election but faced a loss with more than 11000 votes against the Congress leader VS Sivakumar. 

19. His jersey number was 36. 

20. After having multiple affairs in his bachelor life, he married Bhuvneshwari Kumari, who belongs to Jaipur’s famous Shekhawat family. 

21. Sreesanth owns a sports shop called S36, which is in Kakkanad, Kochi. 

22. The Kerala Paceman’s estimated net worth is $5 million.

S Sreesanth’s Career Stats

Format	Matches	Innings	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate	Best	5-wickets	4-wickets
Test	27	50	87	37.59	62.20	5/40	3	4
ODI	53	52	75	33.44	29.10	6/55	1	2
T20I	10	9	7	41.14	29.10	2/12	0	0