I want to start bowling like the Sreesanth of old

Be it his maniacal bat-wielding dance after hitting Andre Nel for a six at the Wanderers...

Be it his maniacal bat-wielding dance after hitting Andre Nel for a six at the Wanderers,or the whole gamut of idiosyncratic antics before starting his run-up,the word eccentric is never far away from Sreesanth. In fact,that facet of his character often overshadows his bowling.

The Kerala speedster may have picked up three wickets and ended up as the highest wicket-taker for South Zone on Friday,but not surprisingly,it was his mind-games with the opposition batsmen and his longer-than-usual run-up that created more interest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Brickbats are nothing new for Sreesanth but it must have been a first even for him when an irate spectator from the Members Stand shouted,You took eight minutes to bowl that over!

There have been enough days in the past when the 25-year-old fast bowler has ensured that the geometry of his bowling is in order the angle of the seam and the deviation after pitching are both perfect like on that glorious afternoon in Johannesburg in 2006,when he ran through the South African batting line-up,and earlier that year when he dismissed Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan as India won in Jamaica.

Story continues below this ad

But a side strain,followed by back problems,ensured that the enigmatic paceman,who last played India in the Kanpur Test against South Africa last March,was out of the national squad. His only outing after recuperating at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore was the Ranji Trophy Plate Division match between Kerala and Jharkhand,in which he ended up with a seven-wicket match haul.

Several experts believe that a fully fit Sreesanth could be the ideal third seamer for India in New Zealand. And the 25 overs he bowled on Friday,including an 11-over spell in between,augurs well both for him and for India. Sreesanth is confident of making a comeback but believes in taking it one step at a time. The rhythm is slowly coming back,and Im testing a long run-up for this game, he said after the days play. I want to again start bowling like the Sreesanth of old.