Full name Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Born February 6, 1983, Kothamangalam, Kerala
Current age 26 years 274 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Kerala, Kerala Under-19s, Kings XI Punjab, Warwickshire
Also known as Gopu
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 14 | 21 | 7 | 217 | 35 | 15.50 | 334 | 64.97 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| ODIs | 41 | 16 | 8 | 34 | 10* | 4.25 | 94 | 36.17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| T20Is | 10 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 19* | 20.00 | 14 | 142.85 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| First-class | 52 | 71 | 22 | 515 | 35 | 10.51 | 1080 | 47.68 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| List A | 68 | 29 | 13 | 103 | 33 | 6.43 | 225 | 45.77 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Twenty20 | 36 | 11 | 6 | 44 | 19* | 8.80 | 61 | 72.13 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 14 | 27 | 2873 | 1573 | 50 | 5/40 | 8/99 | 31.46 | 3.28 | 57.4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| ODIs | 41 | 40 | 1925 | 1856 | 59 | 6/55 | 6/55 | 31.45 | 5.78 | 32.6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T20Is | 10 | 9 | 204 | 288 | 7 | 2/12 | 2/12 | 41.14 | 8.47 | 29.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 52 | 9268 | 5159 | 159 | 5/40 | 32.44 | 3.33 | 58.2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | ||
| List A | 68 | 3233 | 2957 | 87 | 6/55 | 6/55 | 33.98 | 5.48 | 37.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Twenty20 | 36 | 35 | 727 | 1043 | 35 | 3/29 | 3/29 | 29.80 | 8.60 | 20.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Test debut | India v England at Nagpur, Mar 1-5, 2006 scorecard |
| Last Test | India v South Africa at Kanpur, Apr 11-13, 2008 scorecard |
| Test statistics | |
| ODI debut | India v Sri Lanka at Nagpur, Oct 25, 2005 scorecard |
| Last ODI | Australia v India at Brisbane, Mar 4, 2008 scorecard |
| ODI statistics | |
| T20I debut | South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard |
| Last T20I | Australia v India at Melbourne, Feb 1, 2008 scorecard |
| T20I statistics | |
| First-class debut | 2002/03 |
| Last First-class | Kerala v Andhra at Kannur, Nov 3-6, 2009 scorecard |
| List A debut | 2002/03 |
| Last List A | India Blue v India Red at Nagpur, Oct 11, 2009 scorecard |
| Twenty20 debut | South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard |
| Last Twenty20 | Kerala v Tamil Nadu at Visakhapatnam, Sep 25, 2009 scorecard |
For three seasons, Sreesanth was hardly anything more than an answer to a trivia question - who is the only Kerala bowler to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick ? His rise, though, was rapid, and since he played for a weak side, unnoticed. Not too many bowlers get selected for the Duleep Trophy in their first season, like Sreesanth did in 2002-03 after snapping up 22 wickets in his first seven games. His progress was halted owing to a hamstring injury in the following year, but he returned stronger, with a more side-on action and increased pace and a superb display in the Challenger Trophy, in 2005, propelled him to the national squad for the Sri Lanka series. In the last game of his impressive debut season, he snapped up 6 for 55 against England, the best figures by an Indian fast bowler at home. Idiosyncratic, with an aggressive approach - to the stumps and the game - he can be expensive in one-dayers, but is also a wicket-taking bowler. He does it in Tests, too - in Antigua in June 2006 he fired out Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara (for 0) in successive overs, and then took five wickets in Jamaica and played a key role in firing India to a historic triumph. "People think I am high-strung," he says of his whole-hearted approach. "I keep saying things to calm myself and perk myself up, but I don't see it or feel it as draining at all. In fact, it's been a habit with me for a long time, this constant revving-up, something like brushing my teeth."
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan July 2006
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