Sreesanth's former coach shocked at life ban over IPL spot-fixing charges

Indian pace bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth's former coach, P Balachandran has expressed shock at the player's life ban for his involvement in spot-fixing in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

According to Gulf News, the only hope for the 30-year-old, who was banned by the Disciplinary Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is a pending court verdict on his involvement in the scandal.

Sreesanth's Rajasthan Royals teammate Ankeet Chavan was also banned for life, while another player from the IPL outfit, Amit Singh, was banned from playing any representative cricket, or in any way being associated with the activities of the BCCI or its affiliates, for five years, the report said.

The case against another Rajasthan player Harmeet Singh has been closed in the absence of evidence against him, while his teammate Siddarth Trivedi got away with a lighter one-year ban, the report added.

Balachandran said that it was unfortunate that such a talented player had to face such an ending and that whatever happens he had already been away from the game for a long time, adding that fighting legal battles may take too long as age is also not in the player's favour.