New Delhi: Kerala-born cricketer S Sreesanth remains one of the rare Indian players to have won two World Cup titles, having been a vital part of the historic 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup victories. However, his cricketing career was cast into the shadows following the 2013 IPL spot-fixing controversy. Although the court acquitted him of all charges in 2015, the pacer had to spend nearly a month in Delhi's Tihar Jail in 2013.

Sreesanth was imprisoned alongside his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan. Reflecting on that dark period, the veteran speedster—who represented India in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 10 T20Is—revealed that he survived those grueling days in jail solely because of his wife Bhuvneshwari Kumari, a member of the Jaipur Shekhawat family.

In a candid interview with ‘The Lallantop’, Sreesanth opened up about their love story and how his wife and her family stood solidly by him during his lowest ebb. The duo first crossed paths during an India-Pakistan match in 2007 when Sreesanth visited a school event as a guest. They met again the following day on the field, and three years later by a poolside. Their fourth meeting happened in Indore, and by their fifth meeting—right after he was released on bail—they were engaged.

Sreesanth said that Bhuvneshwari was the anchor that kept him from taking his own life while behind bars. He had promised her back in 2010 that they would marry once he won the 2011 World Cup. Their bond, which began when she was a tenth-grader in 2007, endured through the tumultuous storm of 2013. Ultimately, it was her proactive intervention that played a crucial role in securing his bail.

Sreesanth fondly recalled how Bhuvneshwari took charge of his legal battle, coordinating with lawyers and managing the case details. Even when the entire nation vilified him as a traitor, her family stood behind him like a rock. He added that those 12 days in Delhi Police custody and 27 days in Tihar Jail taught him how trivial ordinary life problems truly are.