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Another chance for Sreesanth?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not a big fan of S Sreesanth, who used to give headaches to the Indian captain by creating all sorts of trouble during matches. But Dhoni knows what Sreesanth is capable of if the Kerala pacer applies his mind a bit more judiciously.

The captain knows Sreesanth, in his eagerness to take wickets, goes overboard with his aggression on a few occasions, but is also capable of bowling unbelievable deliveries to confuse the batsmen.

With Ashish Nehra, who had an excellent semi-final against Pakistan in Mohali, being ruled out following a finger injury, Dhoni would be in a dilemma to include whether Sreesanth or Ravichandran Ashwin in the final eleven against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Off spinner Ashwin is a good bet, considering his brilliant bowling in the two matches he played in the tournament. Sreesanth, on the other hand, proved expensive in the initial match against Bangladesh. He was excluded from the team following that match and it is not sure whether Dhoni would gamble on Sreesanth in a crucial match.

Sreesanth, an excellent Test bowler, used to struggle to control his out-swingers and could prove an expensive option. But the right-hand pacer has a penchant for taking wickets and unlike some of the Indian seamers, he has the pace to trouble top batsmen and could generate swing on any wicket.

With the Sri Lankan batsmen being good players of spin, it remains to be seen whether Dhoni would prefer the reliable Ashwin over Sreesanth in the final eleven.

Sreesanth, who wasn’t included in the first list for the World Cup, got his chance when Praveen Kumar was excluded from the squad following an injury. But Sreesanth couldn’t capitalise on his chance in the first match against Bangladesh. Would the injury to Nehra prove a blessing in disguise for Sreesanth.

pradeep@khaleejtimes.com