From getting banned in cricket to becoming Bigg Boss contestant and staging a comeback - S Sreesanth's journey

2,804 - the number of days it took for Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth (S Sreesanth) to make a return back to cricket after he was banned for spot-fixing during an Indian Premier League (IPL) game.

On his comeback to the field for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Sreesanth got emotional after he picked up wickets for the Kerala Ranji team. Sreesanth came to bowl in the fourth over and with the second ball, he got Fabid Ahmed bowled for 10.

The celebrations were a sight to behold, as Sreesanth was seen running across and celebrating with his team-mates. After the celebrations, Sreesanth folded his hands and paid his gratitude to the cricket pitch. Sreesanth ended with figures of 1/29 from four overs as Kerala won the match against Puducherry by six wickets.

Sreesanth​'s Ban from cricket

On May 16, 2013, S Sreesanth was accused of spot-fixing during an IPL game. He and his two Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammates, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were charged during IPL 6.

Jiju Janardhan, another key figure accused of spot-fixing, was reported to be Sreesanth's cousin and an under-22 Gujarat player.

According to police, on May 17, Sreesanth confessed to spot-fixing, however, the bowler has always maintained that he was innocent and was forced to sign confession statements.

Sreesanth and the two other players had their Rajasthan Royals contracts suspended while their inquiries were pending and on September 13, 2013, Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan were banned for life by BCCI's disciplinary committee.

In July 2015, however, he was acquitted in the spot-fixing case and on October 18, 2017, Kerala High Court restored the life ban on Sreesanth.

It was in March 2019, that the Supreme Court of India 'set aside' the life ban imposed. The apex court of the country asked the BCCI to 'reconsider' and 'revisit' the length of any fresh ban.

Following, the orders, the BCCI reduced his ban to 7 years, which meant he could play all forms of the game from 13 September 2020.

Bigg Boss journey

In 2018, Sreesanth participated as a celebrity contestant in the twelfth season of Bigg Boss - a reality TV show, where he finished as the runner up. During his stay, he had threatened to leave the house 299 times.

His stay in the house was highly controversial and he ended up as the most controversial contestant of the season. He had formed close friendships with fellow housemates including season winner Dipika Kakar.  

However, none of these diminished his popularity and he gained large supporters for his innocent nature and straightforward attitude. Sreesanth also relived many events of his cricket career in the show, including the slapgate and spot-fixing incidents.

Return to cricket post ban

Sreesanth had already talked about doing "everything possible to get back on the field". Sreesanth was selected in the Kerala Team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. 

Sreesanth has featured in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is so far. It seems quite uncertain whether he would ever make an India comeback, especially at the age of 37. However, he said he would love to represent the country again soon.