- published: 06 Jul 2014
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Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (Malayalam: ശ്രീശാന്ത്) pronunciation (help·info) (born February 6, 1983 in Kothamangalam, Kerala, India), is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Rajasthan Royals. In the past, he has represented Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Kings XI Punjab. He is the first Kerala Ranji player to play Twenty20 cricket for India.
Sreesanth was a national breakdancing champion when he was in eighth grade.
Sreesanth was born to Shanthakumaran Nair and Savithri Devi. He has one elder brother and a sister. His brother Dipu Santhan owns a music company in Kochi and his sister Nivedita is a television actress in Kerala. His brother in law, Madhu Balakrishnan is a famous South Indian playback singer. Sreesanth is Hindu Brahmin.
Sreesanth initially was a leg-spinner in his childhood, modelling his action on India's leading Test wicket-taker Anil Kumble, who was to become his Test captain. However, his habit of bowling yorkers led him to convert to fast bowling, after being encouraged by his elder brother. Following in the footsteps of fellow Kerala fast bowler Tinu Yohannan, who earned selection to the National Cricket Academy in 2000, Sreesanth was selected for the MRF Pace foundation in Chennai. He then made his first-class debut against Goa in the 2002-03 domestic season, claiming 22 wickets in seven matches in the Ranji Trophy and winning selection for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy squad in the same season.
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984, Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa) more commonly known by his initials AB is a South African cricketer and captain of the South African One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 teams, having succeeded Graeme Smith in both roles after the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He is also part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
De Villiers is a right-handed batsman, who, in a very short space of time, has accumulated many runs in Tests including centuries against England, India, the West Indies and Australia. He has been dismissed in the 90s on five occasions in Tests. He still holds the record for most Test innings without registering a duck (78), before being dismissed for nought against Bangladesh in November 2008. He also holds the record for the highest individual score by a South African batsman in an innings, with 278*. He is an occasional wicketkeeper for the South African cricket team, and is commonly regarded as one of the best fielders currently in international cricket. AB de Villiers blasted the seventh fastest century in ODI cricket, in 58 balls, when he slammed an unbeaten 102 off just 59 balls against India in Ahmedabad in February 2010. He reached the top of the Test Batting rankings in March 2012.