Harbhajan Singh, a former cricket player for India, expressed regret for slapping S Sreesanth and said he made a mistake by doing so. The infamous “slap gate” controversy broke out during the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 and completely derailed the campaign. The infamous incident involved Harbhajan and Sreesanth, who was playing for the Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) and Mumbai Indians, respectively.
The incident took place at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, during an IPL 2008 game between Punjab and Mumbai. Mumbai Indians suffered a 66-run defeat. In the absence of the team’s regular captain, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan was in charge of MI. After becoming irritated by Sreesanth’s remarks during the customary handshake between the two teams, he allegedly slapped him.
Sreesanth was later seen crying on the field, even though the incident was not recorded by a camera and was not broadcast by the official broadcaster. The Board of Control for Cricket in India issued Harbhajan a suspension for five One-Day Internationals (BCCI). The board also started looking into the situation.
Recently, Bhajji and Sreesanth were spotted together in an online interview for Glance, where Harbhajan opened up about the incident and again apologized to Sreesanth.
Watch the video here:
Remembering the controversial event, Harbhajan claimed that if he could go back in time and change one thing, it would be the way he handled Sreesanth on the field. By slapping his former India teammate, the former spinner acknowledged that his actions were wrong and that he erred in doing so.
In the video, he said, “What happened was wrong. I made a mistake. Because of me, my teammate had to face embarrassment. I was embarrassed. If I had to correct one mistake, it was how I treated Sreesanth on the field. It should not have happened. When I think about it, I feel there was no need.”
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Sreesanth retired from cricket earlier this year in March, while Harbhajan confirmed his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 2021 with 417 Test and 269 ODI wickets to his credit. In his time playing for his country, the fast bowler took 169 wickets in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 10 T20 Internationals.
