S Sreesanth cannot play for any other country: BCCI

Sreesanth was banned for life following allegations of spot-fixing during an Indian Premier League match in 2013.

New Delhi: Hours after S Sreesanth revealed his desire to play for another country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday dealt possibly the decisive blow to the banned bowler's dreams of playing cricket again.

The BCCI acting president CK Khanna cited International Cricket Council (ICC) rules to say that the Sreesanth cannot play for another country following the Kerala High Court order which upheld the lifetime ban imposed by the cricket board.

"Any player banned by his parent body cannot play for any other country, ICC rules very clear... Rules, regulations and the legal position is quite clear," Khanna was quoted as saying by TOI.

Earlier in the day, the 34-year-old hinted at the possibility of turning up for another country, saying "BCCI has imposed the ban, not ICC".

In an interview to Asianet News, the 34-year-old hinted that since BCCI has banned him from playing in India, he has the freedom to play cricket for any other country. During the interview, he also claimed that the Indian cricket board is a "private firm".

"BCCI has imposed the ban, not ICC. If not India, I can play for any other country, because am 34 now and I can only play for maximum six more years. As a person who loves cricket, I want to play cricket. And not only that, BCCI is a private firm; it is only us who say that this is the Indian team, but you know BCCI is a private body after all.

"So, if I play for any other country, it probably may be the same. Yes, representing Kerala in Ranji Trophy is different. I had hoped to win Ranji Trophy, Irani for Kerala, but the decision rests upon the BCCI," Sreesanth said.

In August, a single bench of the court had quashed the BCCI's ban on Sreesanth. It observed that “no material or evidence before the disciplinary committee to conclude that Sreesanth was guilty of a violation of the anti-corruption code formulated by the BCCI”.

But, while restoring the ban earlier this week, the division bench said the court cannot conduct a reappraisal of the evidence that BCCI's disciplinary committee relied on. It also said that it's only conducting a judicial review and is not sitting as an appellate authority over BCCI's decision.

He was banned for life following allegations of spot-fixing during an Indian Premier League match in 2013.

The right-arm fast-medium bowler played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is for India, taking 87, 75 and 7 wickets respectively.

He last played for India in a Test match against England at The Oval in August 2011.