Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (India)

Batting Style	Right Hand Bat
Bowling Type	Right Arm Fast Medium
	Tests	ODI's
Matches	8	27
Runs Scored	126	7
Batting Average	14.00	1.40
100s/50s	-/-	-/-
Top Score	29*	3
Balls Bowled	1709	1317
Wickets	37	35
Bowling Average	25.97	36.11
5 wickets in Innings	1	1
10 Wickets in match	-	N/A
Best Bowling	5/40	6/55
Catches /Stumpings	1/-	3/-
As of Feb 17,2007 Source: Cricinfo.com

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (born February 6, 1983 in Kothamangalam, Kerala, India), commonly known simply as Sreesanth and also nicknamed "Gopu", is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman.

Sreesanth initially was a leg-spinner in his childhood, modelling his action on India's leading Test wicket-taker and now teammate Anil Kumble. However, his habit of bowling yorkers lead him to convert to fast bowling, after being encouraged by his elder brother.

Sreesanth was selected for the MRF Pace foundation in Chennai. He then made his first-class debut against Goa in the 2002-03 domestic season, claiming 22 wickets in seven matches in the Ranji Trophy and meriting a selection for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy squad in the same season.

He was selected for India-A side in a tour match against the visiting New Zealand side at Rajkot. He claimed one wicket in twelve overs after being restricted with a hamstring injury

In November 2004, Sreesanth entered the record books when he took a hat-trick against Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji trophy game, the first time it was achieved by a

Kerala bowler, earning him the nickname The Prince of hat-tricks amongst Keralites. He was selected to represent India B in the Challenger Trophy in October 2005, a domestic limited-overs tournament . His strong performance in that tournament, being the leading wicket taker (7) with the third best bowling average lead to selection for the Indian team for the home ODI series against Sri Lanka.

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TEST CAREER:-

Sreesanth was selected for his first Test squad in the home series against England in March 2006 , in place of Zaheer Khan. He claimed 4/95 in his debut appearance in the 1st Test in Nagpur, where he opened the bowling with Irfan Pathan. He was ruled out of the second Test in Mohali due to illness, but recovered and captured five wickets as well a 29* with the bat in the Third Test in Mumbai.

With the axing of Pathan, Sreesanth became India's leading pace bowler on the tour of the West Indies. He missed the second Test due to an injury but managed to claim his best match figures of 5/72 in the 4th Test in Kingston, Jamaica.

Sreesanth's most significant performance to date in Test cricket was his role in the 1st Test of India's 2006 tour to South Africa at Johannesburg. After losing the limited-overs series 4-0, Sreesanth produced took 5-40 in a display of pace and swing to help dismiss South Africa. This performance helped to bowl South Africans out for just 84, leading to first Indian win on South African soil, for which he was named man of the match.

The day after national selectors picked Sreesanth for the 15-member Indian squad for the first two matches of the one-day series against Sri Lanka, the Kerala speedster flew back home to be mobbed in Kochi.

A sizeable crowd greeted him at the airport when he flew back from Delhi. At home in Kailash Nagar in the heart of the city too, scores of people rushed to greet him. A number of public receptions - including one by a leading Malayalam daily -- followed.

OUTSIDE CRICKET:-

Sreesanth studies psychology at university whilst he is not playing cricket, and speaks English, Tamil and Hindi in addition to the Malayalam language native to Kerala. In his early years, he was a break dancer, becoming a national champion when he was in the eighth grade.

Sreesanth is not your everyday cricketer. Apart from being an excellent all-round sportsman, he is also an avid reader and enjoys dancing.

According to him,"I read motivational books and autobiographies. 'Art of Fast Bowling' by Dennis Lillee, 'Sunny Days' and that kind of stuff. Even if it is a newspaper article, I read it straight away."

The paceman, who carries a laptop with him, said he liked to watch the footage of the good balls he bowled on his laptop to gained confidence from those.

I basically carry it to see the video of the batsmen. But I never see the bad balls I have bowled, I always see the balls that beat the batsmen, the ones which gave me the wickets, and those I think I bowled beautifully, he added.

Information credits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Sreesanth