Kerala Premier League may drop Shantakumaran Sreesanth as brand ambassador

Dubai: The Kerala Premier League (KPL) is considering whether to remove Shantakumaran Sreesanth as their brand ambassador.

Speaking to Gulf News, CTK Nasir, the director of the KPL, which is the UAE’s richest tournament, said: “We are shocked by the happenings in India and in our wildest dreams we did not imagine that Sreesanth could commit such a mistake. If it is true, we will not hesitate to remove him from the brand ambassador position.”

Paul T Joseph, another director of the KPL, revealed that a meeting will soon be arranged to discuss the matter. “We had appointed Sreesanth as our brand ambassador as he is the pride of all Keralites,” he said. “In all our dealings with Sreesanth, he has come across as a sheer gentleman, but if he is proven guilty, we will immediately take action. A meeting of all our directors will be summoned soon to discuss the matter.”

Jiju Janardhanan, who is alleged to have been the link between Sreesanth and the bookies in the spot-fixing scandal, was captain of the Cochin Diwans team that played in the KPL. Sreesanth was present for the launch of the first two editions of the KPL in Dubai.

Following the success of the KPL, Willow Cricket Club launched a Kerala Cricket League. Janardhanan also played in this tournament for Cochin Cannons and emerged as the player of the event.

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had allowed three overseas players to play in the two tournaments to raised the standard of domestic cricket. Janardhanan had played for Cochin as one of the three overseas players.

Former Kerala player PG Sundar, who is the coach of the Palakkad Harvestors team that won the KPL title this year, is also in shock over Sreesanth’s involvement. Incidentally, Sreesanth had introduced Janardhanan to him as his cousin during the KPL.

“I was shocked to hear Sreesanth’s father remark on television yesterday that Janardhanan is not their relative,” he said. “Sreesanth even told me that Janaradhanan is a very talented cricketer, but since Kerala did not consider him for selection he moved to Gujarat. During the matches, Janardhanan came across as a temperamental player and many players did comment on him.”

The KPL officials had approached the ECB to allow international stars to play in their tournament following requests from some clubs. The ECB turned down the requests as strict anti-corruption procedures had to be followed by the organisers of the event if Test players are participating.

“We want to make sure that our domestic tournaments are in no way tainted and we are also very keen to protect our players,” said Mazhar Khan, the administrator of the ECB.

Former Kerala players who are close to Sreesanth were also stunned by Thursday’s development. Former Kerala Ranji Trophy player and UAE-based S Santosh, for whom Sreesanth has huge respect as a senior player, said: “As a Kerala cricketer I feel sad over what has happened. Sreesanth had come up the ranks through hard work and one cannot believe that he could destroy it in such a manner.”

JK Mahendra, who played for the Indian junior team after representing Kerala in the 1970s, said: “I have seen Sreesanth from a very young age. The Indian cricket board should conduct courses on personality development to prevent more players from jumping into trouble. Anyone guilty of destroying the game should be punished.”

Satish Menon, a former Kerala University player, said: “It is important to find out whether many more other than Sreesanth are involved and are there bigger fishes involved in it. Will they also be nabbed or will it all stop with Sreesanth and few other tadpoles?”