Tainted former India pacer S Sreesanth will be considered for selection in the Kerala cricket team provided he proves fitness after his BCCI ban ends in September, state team coach Tinu Yohannan said on Thursday. Sreesanth, 37, was banned for life by the BCCI in August 2013 for his alleged involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal earlier that year. However, BCCI ombudsman D K Jain last year reduced the sentence to seven years. "Sreesanth will be considered for this year's Ranji Trophy. We are looking forward to having Sreesanth playing for Kerala again. Everyone in Kerala is also looking forward to that," Yohannan, also a former India pacer, told PTI.

Yohannan said Sreesanth has enough time to work on his fitness. "His (Sreesanth's) ban will lifted in September. The good thing is that there is time for him get ready.. He is working hard on his game and his fitness..," the Kerala coach said. "Then we will have to assess his physical fitness and game skills. Sree (Sreesanth) is always in the scheme of things...," he added.