From theatrics to heroics, Sreesanth’s done it all...

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is a flawed hero. When his tail is up, he is a like a bull in China closet that is painted red.

He goes berserk, unmindful of the perils that he could cause to the team. It would require the calming influence of his skipper to keep him in control. Sometimes, he has even had to be warned of his place in the side.

“We always need to have him under control,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni said of his mercurial pacer, who brings a lot of energy to the attack. “It is good for everyone,” Dhoni said, “If he is under control, it is good for us, for the opposition, for the umpires, and also the spectators.”

With his pent-up energy and histrionics, Sreesanth has given the skipper a lot of problems. He consumes extra time to complete his over which could result in a fine or even a ban for the skipper. So Dhoni had to talk tough with him. “I have told him that if ‘you take seven minutes for an over, it will be difficult for anyone to let you play. First and foremost thing was bring down the time you take to bowl an over,’” Dhoni had warned him. He was willing to give the temperamental pacer four or five minutes for an over, not more than that. “The only thing I could do was give him short four or five-over spells.”

Sreesanth’s liberal time consumption at Centurion forced Dhoni to bring in Suresh Raina to make up for lost time. The part-timer went for over 70 runs in seven overs. But the skipper was happy with the pacer’s performance. “He did well in this game. The over rate was good. He was bowling really well from the north side,” the skipper analysed.

At Kingsmead, of course, Sreesanth was in his magical element. His three wickets were the chief contributing factors for India’s series-levelling win. His aggressions and shenanigans led to loss of cool by Graeme Smith on Day Three. Although the South Africa skipper refused to admit that he was angry, Smith lost his temper and wicket after having a run-in with Sreesanth on Tuesday.

It would be difficult to see Saint Sreesanth but then it is for Dhoni to decide when and whether to control him. For the time being, let us cherish the memories of the pacer’s Kingsmead exploits and, of course, the histrionics and shenanigans that were as much instrumental in India’s amazing win as his pace, line, length and accuracy.