The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has suspended former India cricketer S Sreesanth for three years over false and derogatory remarks against the board regarding Sanju Samson's omission from the India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. KCA released a statement and said the decision was taken during the special general body meeting.

Along with Sreesanth, co-owner of Kollam Aeries, a franchise team in Kerala Premier League, a show cause notice was also issued to franchise teams Kollam Aeries, Alappuzha Team Lead, and Alappuzha Ripples. However, since the franchises clarified their stance, no action was taken against them.

“Following the controversial remarks, the KCA had issued show-cause notices to Sreesanth and the franchisee teams Kollam Aries, Alleppey Team Lead content creator Sai Krishnan, and Alleppey Ripples. As the franchisee teams gave satisfactory replies to the notice, the meeting decided not to proceed with further action against them. However, the KCA instructed the team management to be vigilant when including members,” the KCA statement read.

The KCA also said it will seek legal action for compensation from Sanju Samson's father, Samson Vishwanath, Reji Lukose, and a TwentyFour news channel anchor for making baseless remarks about the board.

The controversy arose when KCA snubbed Samson from Kerala's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, following which he was also ignored for the Champions Trophy, leaving Sreesanth unimpressed. The pacer didn't mince words and slammed the board for the move. Following Sreesanth's remarks, the KCA issued a show-cause notice to the pacer. The board confirmed that the notice was issued not because he supported Samson, but because he made baseless remarks against the board, which was a violation of his contractual terms as the co-owner of the Kollam Sailors franchise.

The board, in their response, took a dig at Sreesanth and said it supported its player even when they were in jail.

“When Sreesanth was in jail facing allegations in the infamous match-fixing scandal, KCA officials visited and supported him. Although the court quashed the criminal case, it is a fact that he has not been acquitted in the match-fixing case. In such a situation, there is no need for Sreesanth to take up the protection of other players,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, KCA had clarified their stance over Samson's snub and revealed that the wicketkeeper-batter was left out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad because he denied being part of the training camp before the tournament. “Sanju had sent an email stating that he would not be available for the camp. The team had a short camp in Wayanad without him. Naturally, we only considered those who were part of the sessions for selection. There has been no further discussion with him on the

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