Former India pacer S Sreesanth has opened up on how the infamous IPL 2008 slap incident involving Harbhajan Singh still lingers in his family’s memories. Speaking on a podcast with Padmajeet Sehrawat, Sreesanth revealed that his daughter once refused to even greet Harbhajan when they met years later.
The infamous slap
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, but his daughter’s reaction surprised him. “When I told my daughter, ‘This is Bhajji pa, he has played with me,’ she immediately said, ‘No, I won’t say hi.’ I could not understand why. Maybe in school there were conversations about it,” Sreesanth recalled. “We tried explaining but she still would not talk to him. The next day during the legends tournament we explained that he was like our elder brother. I don’t think Bhajji pa did that deliberately. It happened in the heat of the moment. It was a learning experience for both of us.”
Harbhajan has also spoken publicly about the same meeting. He said he had apologised many times and hoped she would one day see him as an uncle rather than the man who hit her dad.
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