espnstar.com’s Rajarshi Gupta spoke to Mahela Jayawardene on the challenges of being around the temperamental S Sreesanth.

Sreesanth, who made it back to the Indian Test side after being away for more than a year, has been known to be a nuisance for opponents. His behaviour has drawn him reprimands from his state association, the BCCI and the ICC but his Kings' XI Punjab team-mate Jayawardene does not see a problem.

The two will battle it out in the second Test in Kanpur but the elegant Sri Lankan batsman is full of praise for the aggressive pacer. "This aggression is great for the game. I rate Sreesanth as one of the top bowlers and he is a terrific guy to be around."

Jayawardene, who sizzled with a magnificent 275 in the opening Test in Ahmedabad said he was not worried about Sreesanth's antics against them.

"A bowler may work you up a lot but at the end of the day, he will still have to bowl at you. They might just lose the plot if they over do it."

Sreesanth's run-ins with the authority are nothing new and he has often upset senior players with his behaviour. In fact, the bowler, who got back to playing the longer version after appearing against South Africa early last year has vowed to turn over a new leaf.

From breaking into an impromptu jig after carting Andre Nel for a six to booing off Australian batsmen from the boundary ropes, Sreesanth has done it all.

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Jayawardene's words will sound like music to the Kerela captain. There is a lesson to be learnt here- one of elegance on the field and poise off it.

Some of the game's greatest fast bowlers were also the most loved cricketers, as is the case with aggressive batsmen.

Jayawardene is convinced his team will be able to thwart a hyper Sreesanth on the field: "He is not going to be a major issue with us. As far as we are concerned, it is all about concentrating against a good bowler."

It has been more than a year since ‘Slapgate' rocked the cricketing fraternity in India. Sreesanth had taken a sharp whack on his cheek from India team-mate and Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh.

It will be interesting to see how the dressing room has taken to Sreesanth's tears and the subsequent trouble that Bhajji went through.

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