New icon Sreesanth rings in changes

Kochi too seems equally frantic to receive the rare Cricket star from this football country. Historically, the multi-purpose Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium has recorded a full house for virtually all international cricket games but this time things will be different. Such has been the sporting culture in the city that football games are occasions to speak about the exploits of local stalwarts like IM Vijayan and Pappachan, while in cricket season they moan when Kerala would produce a Tendulkar, Ganguly or someone better than Tinu Yohanan — the last player from the state to play for India.

Tomorrow, when the usual mass exodus from the north Kerala — Kannur, Kozhikode, Kassargod and Mallapuram happens to the state’s cricket hot beds — hit Kochi by midnight in buses and trains, they will finally be talking about a home grown hero. “Sree happens to be as big a name as, say, a Vijayan or PT Usha in Kerala now,” says Satish.

There are many around in Thammanam — the area in Kochi were Sreesanth grew up but has now moved to a bungalow presented to him by a real estate company that he endorses — who agree. Sreesanth’s elder brother Dipu Shanthan, who stills stays in the area and owns a music production company, speaks of a plot near their old house.

“That was the place people used to play football and as you would have noticed, today they are playing cricket,” he says as one recalls the game of cricket on the side of North Road in Kailashnagar.

... contd.