PTI

Sreesanth 'embarrassed' about Vaughan incident

Sreesanth said he did a few unwanted things during the second Test out of sheer frustration and wanted to make amends for that

01-Aug-2007


Sreesanth: "Nothing is more dear to me than the game itself and I swear by this game that I was attempting a yorker but my wrist position went horribly wrong and it went as a beamer" © Getty Images
Admitting that he was embarrassed by his on-field behaviour during the second Test against England at Trent Bridge, Sreesanth said he wanted to apologise to England captain Michael Vaughan for the body-barge incident.
"To be honest, I'm embarrassed by what I did and I think I will have to change," Sreesanth said. "I want to say sorry for that [the Vaughan incident] but no one should question my commitment," said Sreesanth, who was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for the incident.
"I am thankful to Rahul bhai [Dravid] for showing faith in me," Sreesanth told ESPN. "He was upset with a few things, but after the game he came and told me when we were celebrating in the dressing-room, 'Sree, after all this, after all the explanations I had to give for you, I still love you and want you to do well.'"
Sreesanth said he did a few unwanted things during the second Test out of sheer frustration and wanted to make amends for that. "Frankly, that was the worst part, may be that's the reason I did a few silly things like coming around the wicket to batsmen when I should have continued bowling the basic stuff.
"I was really feeling sad that I haven't contributed. I was trying too many things and last two nights of the Test match slept clutching my India cap thinking it will get me luck," he said.
However, Sreesanth said he did not hurl the beamer at Kevin Pietersen on purpose. "Nothing is more dear to me than the game itself and I swear by this game that I was attempting a yorker but my wrist position went horribly wrong and it went as a beamer.
"See, I don't stride to the wicket, I sprint. Ask any cricketer and he will tell you that it is impossible to bowl a beamer with a run-up like mine. I had bowled two deliveries on a good length and was trying to bowl a yorker which went horribly wrong," he said.
Sreesanth said he loved to play his game hard and a few errors could have emerged out of that.
"Look, I'm a proud Indian and play the game hard. I'm still new to international cricket and can have an odd slip but that doesn't mean I'm not putting that extra effort.
"In fact, I was happy that I kept coming hard at the batsmen all day long but as an Indian I wear my heart on the cuff not even on the sleeve."
Sreesanth, who has an interesting habit of writing letters to God before every game, said that he had hoped to play a crucial role in India's Trent Bridge victory.
"Yes, I did write a letter to God before the fourth day of the Test. I wrote in that, 'Tomorrow I will win the Test match for my country. I will be the one, God please help me.' But it didn't go that way. Well, maybe I didn't write my name in the end and God thought it came from Zaheer bhai," he said.