17 years after he infamous slapgate incident involving S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh, the video has been made public. The former Indian spinner had slapped the ex-Indian pacer following a MI vs PBKS game back in IPL 2008, an incident that sent ripples across the country. Now, Lalit Modi – then chairman of the IPL – has made the never-seen-before video public on a podcast with former Australian captain Michael Clarke.
Viral video of Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth out!
Speaking on Beyond 23 Cricket podcast, Lalit Modi confirmed that it was Harbhajan who struck Sreesanth while both teams were exchanging handshakes and high-fives after the match. The then IPL chairman claimed that he had sat down both the stars after the incident and had even banned Harbhajan for 8 matches since then.
“It happened absolutely. I hadn’t put it out for 18 years. It was Bhajji and Sreesanth. The game was over and the players were going, thanking each other, shaking hands. Bhajji just looks at Sreesanth and gives him a back hand (slap). I sat them both down and I had to penalize Bhajji in the meeting. I penalised him for 8 games. I found it to be offensive,” Lalit Modi said.
The altercation took place during the first season of the IPL in Mohali, when Harbhajan, then captain of Mumbai Indians, slapped Sreesanth after a match against Kings XI Punjab. The incident was caught on camera, with Sreesanth seen in tears, and quickly became one of the most controversial moments in the league’s history. Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the season.
Sreesanth said the matter was long buried between the two while Harbhajan said he had apologised many times.
Recently, speaking on a podcast with Padmajeet Sehrawat, Sreesanth revealed that his daughter once refused to even greet Harbhajan when they met years later.
