At 39, S. Sreesanth has made it to the Indian Premier League auction list at a base price of Rs 50 lakh.Last year, too, the fast bowler had registered himself for the IPL auction, creating a buzz in the cricketing circles. However, the 38-year-old speedster from Kerala did not feature in the final auction list, released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).This time, a total of 590 players - including 228 capped, 355 uncapped and seven cricketers from associate nations - will go under the hammer in the auction, to be held in Bengaluru on February 12-13.
Returning from a seven-year suspension for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing scandal, the speedster featured in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Kerala last year year and scalped four wickets. Sreesanth had set himself a base price of Rs 75 lakh. However, he did not feature in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures this season.
In 2013, Sreesanth - who was once considered one of the finest right-arm fast bowlers - was arrested from the team hotel in Mumbai along with his two other Rajasthan Royals teammates - Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - for alleged involvement in spot-fixing in the IPL. While his seven-year ban was over last year, the IPL franchises seemed to be a bit apprehensive in picking him last year.
"He (Sreesanth) is 39 and hasn't played for a while, so the franchises will keep everything in mind before picking the right players. With two new teams coming in, the auction will be intense, so it needs to be seen whether the franchises actually want to invest in such a seasoned campaigner or opt for young guns," an industry expert, who has been following the IPL trends for years, said.
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