Banned fast bowler S Sreesanth claimed innocence in a letter to the BCCI's disciplinary Committee and said his confession to the police in the IPL spot-fixing saga was under duress.

"Under the threat of arrest of my close relatives a statement was forcibly taken in the manner directed by the police," said Sreesanth, who was banned for life after being found guilty of spot-fixing in the IPL in an internal inquiry conducted by the Board's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Ravi Sawani.