The man in a nutshell Name: Shanthakumaran
Sreesanth
Nick Name :Sree, Gopu,
`The Prince of hat-tricks',
Profession :Cricket player,
aspiring poet Date of Birth :February 6,
1983
Birth Place :Kakur,
Ernakulam district, Kerala,
India
Languages Known :Malayalam, English,
Tamil, Hindi
Cricket Batting :style:
Right-handed
Bowling style: Right-arm
fast-medium Clubs played: India, Asia XI,
Kerala, Kerala Under-19s
Cricket Debut Test debut :
India v England at Nagpur -
Mar 1-5, 2006
ODI debut : India v Sri Lanka at Nagpur - Oct 25,
2005
Twenty20 Int. debut :
South Africa v India at
Johannesburg - Dec 1,
2006 Coach :Dennis Lillee
Guru :Pratyachch Mishra
Diety : Ganapati
Spot : Sri Krishna Temple at
Guruvaiyur
Singer : Michael Jackson Books: 'Art of Fast
Bowling'. 'Sunny Days',
'Why not you'
Sports: Football, Table
tennis, Hockey
Leader: Dr.A.P.J.Kalam Sportsperson: Lance
Armstrong, Allan Donald
Author: Agatha Christie
Hobbies and interests *
Avid reader, never misses
newspaper articles also * Dancing.
* Can draw portraits, sing
well and write poems Religious artifacts in his
room Crystal Ganesha, Lord
Krishna, Sai Baba, the Bible
and an Arabic prayer book Inspiration :Dipu Santhan,
his brother who played
cricket at the university
level.
Guide and mentor: P
Shivakumar (Ernakulam Cricket Club president) Cricket training: Ernakulam
CC MRF Pace Foundation in
Chennai. 'Jago India'The song was
written by him and sung
by his brother-in-law
singer Madhu Balakrishnan
for an album 'Desh' His characteristic: Always
wears a blue wristband on
the field.
* Carries a laptop with him
and would like to watch
the footage of the good balls bowled by him. Never
worries about the bad
balls.
SuperstitionWhenever he is
out playing he asks his
mother to light the lamp before the deity at home.
Also insists the lamp should
not be put out till the play
is over.
Break dance He was the
winner of the South Zone Boogie Woogie competition
in 1995
Facts : Played a lot of tennis
ball cricket in his young
age
* Was the sports captain of Florence school and led the
football, badminton,
hockey and cricket teams.
* In an inter-school
competition of Bharatiya
Vidhya Bhavan he won the player of the tournament
award.
* His first break came at 18,
when he was selected to
attend the MRF Pace
Foundation. He went to Australia as part of an
exchange programme with
Commonwealth Bank
Cricket Academy.
* Initially a leg-spinner-
cum-opening batsman inspired by Anil Kumble.
Later, he decided to
become a medium-pacer.
* Once when he wanted to
meet Tendulkar he was
stopped by a security guard. He managed to bluff
his way in, saying that
Tendulkar had paid for his
scholarship.
* Received an anonymous
card 'Believe in your dreams. Don’t keep dreaming.' The lines are
now imprinted in his heart. Mother: "Cricket is in his
blood. I knew he would be
a sportsman. His
mannerisms were like one.
And all he wanted to do
was play cricket." Brother: "I always
encouraged him. I knew he
has this passion for the
game. He was a very
determined boy. I think the
best thing about Sree is that he set his goals very
high from day one."
Sister: "He is a god-fearing
person. I think he has
made it because of his deep
faith to Guruvayurappan. " Moin Khan: 'This lad has the
ability to go a long way
and serve his country with
merit and distinction.'
Javagal Srinath: 'What
impressed me most was his attitude'
Coach: "I knew he would
make it to the big league
one day. Now the time has
come. I am sure he will
perform great. He is here to stay in the Indian cricket
team."
Himself: "I am a tidy person
and I iron my uniform
before every match."
Records: He is the only Kerala bowler to have
taken a Ranji Trophy hat-
trick against Himachal
Pradesh. * Is the second person
from Kerala next to Tinu
Yohannan to be in the
Indian cricket team.
* He is one among the few
bowlers who got selected for the Duleep Trophy in
their first season.
Philosophy in life:"Heads on
shoulders. Feet on earth."
Success mantra : Three D's
in life, dedication, determination and
discipline, are crucial for his
success. Of these, he values
personal discipline the
most.
Quote: "Aim higher and success will follow. Do not
be content, and get
stagnated with your own
performance but aim
higher to do better." In A Nutshell Spin To Pace Sreesanth was a leg-
spinner in his childhood,
and modelled his action on
Anil Kumble. Encouraged
by hi brother and his ability
to bowl yorkers, he switched to fast bowling. NCA Call-Up In 2000, he was called up
to the National Cricket
Academy. He was also
selected for the MRF Pace
foundation in Chennai. First-Class Sreesanth made his first-
class debut for Kerala
against Goa in the 2002-03
season. He took 22 wickets
in 7 matches in Ranji
Trophy and got into the South Zone team. Hat-trick In November 2004,
Sreesanth took a hat-trick
in a Ranji game against
Himachal Pradesh. His
progress was halted by a
hamstring injury the following year. Big Leap Sreesanth represented
India B in the Challenger
Trophy in 2005. He was
leading wicket taker
(seven) and got the Man of
the Series award. Top Figures Sreesanth snapped up
6/55 against England at
Indore in 2006. It is his
best bowling in ODIs. His School Sreesanth went to
different schools as he
lived in many cities as a
boy. He passed his
secondary education from
Kochi’s Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan school. He
graduated in psychology
through correspondence
from Annamalai University. His Club Sreesanth has played for
Emakulum Cricket Club
since he made his debut for
their senior team as a 15-
year-old. His presence has
helped the club attract a sponsor to hold bowling
camps for Kerala players. His Mentor P Sivakumar is not just
Sreesanth’s first coach, but has been his mentor
throughout. He also
handles the medium-
pacer’s financial affairs. Game Changer Sreesanth captured the
nation’s imagination in December, 2006 when, on
a lively Wanderers pitch in
Johannesburg, he captured
eight for 99 in the match to
bowl India to their first
Test win in South Africa. Soothsayer Prem Kumar Sharma
Astrologer 2011 will be a significant
and result-oriented year
for Sreesanth. He will do his
debut but performance will
do his best but the
performance will be moderate. His performance
will be a boost to the team
and it will bring glory. God-Fearing “He is very religious and always carries his puja kit
with him. Before going to a
match or tour, he will pray
at the St Anthony Church
and Ganesh temple here,” says his mother Savithri
Devi. The number 36 on his
jersey was also finalised
after consulting a
numerologist. Music Lover He first wrote a song for an
album Jago India before
the 2007 Cup. The idea of
forming a band came after
that and Sreesanth formed
S36 with his friends in October last year. The
name is a combination of
the bowler’s initial and lucky number. The band
released a CWG theme song
and has recorded a World
Cup anthem for the team. Multi-Tasking Sreesanth has been adept
at multi-tasking since
childhood. Both his elder
sisters used to learn
singing, and the younger
sibling learnt by listening to them practice at home. The
speedster is a good sketch
artist. “If you sit in front of him for sometime, and he
has a paper and pencil, he
will make a sketch of you, ” says his mother
