I am innocent and haven`t got justice, says Srivastava

Kanpur: Tainted Uttar Pradesh paceman Shalabh Srivastava feels he hasn`t got "justice" after the BCCI slapped a five-year ban which means that his career is "as good as over."

"I still maintain that I am innocent and I have not got justice. When I spoke to BCCI officials, I told them that I have never been involved in any match-fixing. I told them that I haven`t even played in this year`s IPL and I thought I would get proper justice and won`t be punished as I am innocent," an upset Srivastava told a news agency from Shirdi, where he has gone with his family to seek blessings of Sai Baba. The 30-year-old is feeling very low after being handed out a harsh punishment as it means that his career is as good as over and he hasn`t given a thought about appealing against the ban. "I don`t know what to do now that I have been banned for five years. May be some sort of divine intervention would help me and that`s why I have come with family to seek Sai Baba`s blessings," Srivastava added. The former India U-19 pacer still can`t understand that how it was concluded that he has negotiated in trying to fix an IPL match. "Since I had knee injury, I was in Lucknow going through recuperation process. How can I negotiate with someone and promise him to fix matches and bowl no-balls?" he questioned. But Srivastava did admit that it was a "huge mistake to befriend unknown people. But I never had any discussions on match-fixing with them." Srivastava has played 41 first-class matches and has taken 130 wickets. PTI