'I was just overjoyed' - Sreesanth celebrates on social media after taking wicket in Ranji Trophy after nine years

Veteran pacer Sreesanth managed to pick up his first wicket in Ranji Trophy after a gap of nine years and recently posted the video of his emotional moment on Twitter. The 39-year-old faced a life ban from professional cricket in 2013 after getting involved in a spot-fixing scandal during his stint with Rajasthan Royals in the sixth edition of IPL. However, his ban was reduced to seven years and he returned to professional cricket in September 2020.

The right arm seamer has played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 1o T20Is for India, having made his international debut in 2005 and he was an important member of the Indian side in the 2007 T20 World Cup victory and the 2011 World Cup victory. He has bowled some outstanding spells in his prime and last played for India in 2011.

Sreesanth registered for the IPL 2021 auction but found no buyers and the same continued into the IPL 2022 mega auction despite being listed at a base price of 50 lakh. The Kerala-born cricketer returned to Ranji Trophy now and played in the first game against Meghalaya at the Rajkot stadium.

Here’s Sreesanth’s post on Twitter

Sreesanth shared the video of his first wicket on return to Ranji Trophy after a long gap and was very much delighted with it as well. He looked down to the ground once he picked up the wicket of Aryan Bora and kissed the turf denoting the emotional side of his game. The former Indian pacer finished with figures of 2 for 40 in his 12 over spell in the first innings and did not bag any wicket in the second innings.

Now that’s my 1st wicket after 9 long years..gods grace I was just over joyed and giving my Pranaam to the wicket ..❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #grateful #cricket #ketalacricket #bcci #india #Priceless pic.twitter.com/53JkZVUhoG

— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) March 2, 2022

“Now that’s my 1st wicket after 9 long years..gods grace I was just over joyed and giving my Pranaam to the wicket .. #grateful #cricket #ketalacricket #bcci #india #Priceless,” Sreesanth captioned.

Notably, Sreesanth wasn’t part of the second game for Kerala against Gujarat in the Elite Group A fixture and it remains to be seen if he can find a place in the playing XI against Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, Kerala has won both their games so far and are likely to finish atop their group.