Sreesanth Reveals Shocking Details about His Hatred for Chennai Super Kings; World Cup Winner Denies Abusing Former India Coach Paddy Upton

S Sreesanth, who was recently acquitted of all match-fixing charges by the Supreme Court of India, revealed startling details about his hatred for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The 36-year-old fast bowler, who life ban from cricket was last month uplifted by the apex court, was speaking on Paddy Upton’s – former Rajasthan Royals and team India coach – autobiography where the South African accuses Sreesanth of abusing him after the latter was left-out from a game against CSK. The World-Cup winning pacer revealed that he wanted to play that game because of his dislike for the three-time IPL champions, but denied abusing Upton. Sreesanth Looks to Contest Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on BJP Ticket, Vows to Defeat Shashi Tharoor in Kerala.

In 2013, Sreesanth – along with Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – was handed a life-term ban by the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) on charges of fixing IPL matches during his stint with the Rajasthan Royals in 2013. The Indian international, who apart from match-fixing accusations, has courted many controversies in the past was speaking in an interview with the Indian Express where he disclosed his hatred for CSK, which is captained by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and has the likes of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu, all of whom have been his teammates in the Indian team.

“I requested Upton many times to let me play that game — only because of my history with CSK and because I wanted to defeat them. He made it out differently – in his book – that I wanted to play as if for fixing. Everybody knows how much I hate CSK, I don’t have to say. People might say because of MS Dhoni or N Srinivasan sir or whatever but that’s not the truth; I just hate the yellow colour. I hated Australia for the same reason. Most importantly, I have done extremely well against CSK that’s why I wanted to play,” said Sreesanth, who was involved in the slapgate incident involving Harbhajan Singh and also been accused of having continuous rifts with former Royals coach Upton.

“Mr Upton, touch your heart and touch your kid’s heads, did I ever abuse you either during India team or in IPL? I want to ask the legend Rahul Dravid, someone whom I respect and love, when did I ever fight with him? When did I abuse with him the way Upton said in his book?” added the fast bowler.

Talking of Upton’s claims that Sreesanth abused him and Rahul Dravid when he was not picked for the game against CSK, the cricketer-turned actor said that, “That allegation that I abused the two was the most disappointing. That was bigger than torture by police. That thing still hurts. Other players would talk about Upton, 'Yeh kaun hai bey, Kirsten sab kuch karte hain (who is this guy, Kirsten does everything).’ Have I ever behaved like that with him? I really hope your book sells more because you seem so desperate.”

Earlier, Sreesanth, who appeared in Aksar 2 and also participated in the celebrity dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, had said that he has already started training for a full-time return to cricket and also sought permission from the BCCI to play in global T20 Leagues.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2019 07:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).