The Kerala bowler was called up to the 15-man squad yesterday after fellow medium-pacer Praveen Kumar's elbow injury - sustained during India's recent one-day international series in South Africa - failed to heal in time.
Sreesanth, who made his one-day debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka, was overlooked for the 2007 World Cup as well as the upcoming one, but Kumar's injury woes have at last paved the way for the mercurial paceman to showcase his talents in cricket's flagship event.
Mainly seen as a Test specialist, his 51 one-day matches have yielded 75 wickets, but 46 of those have come on home soil at a strike rate of just over 25, making him a key component in India's quest to land a World Cup triumph in the sub-continent.
And while Sreesanth already has a winner's medal on the world stage - the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup - he is keen to add 50-over glory to his resume.
The right-arm bowler told CNN-IBN news channel: "It's a great challenge. I am lucky to be part of one World Cup.
"I'm looking forward to it and I will do justice to what I've been offered here."
He added: "Since the county stint (with Warwickshire), I've been working a lot. Everybody's been helping me. The coach, the senior players and even newcomers.
"It's been a learning experience and I'm really excited to play in the World Cup."
He will join Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel in India's pace ranks, and he believes they have the strike power needed to lift the trophy.
He added: "Zaheer, Nehra and Munaf have played a World Cup so we have enough experience.
"With them and me, I am looking forward to the tournament because we have experience and talent as well so I am sure we will do a good job."
0 comments:
Post a Comment