Slapgate controversy: Harbhajan Singh opens up about what went down with S Sreesanth in IPL 2008

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 just wrapped up and a new team Gujarat Titans (GT) were crowned the champions at the home ground in Ahmedabad. While this season saw comparatively fewer issues, leaving aside some umpiring decisions, over the years, the cash-rich tournament has been embroiled in a lot of controversies.

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One incident that will before be etched in the minds of fans will be the infamous ‘slapgate’ scandal that had rocked the cricket fraternity. 

The massive controversy had occured in the 2008 season of the IPL that included veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth known as S Sreesanth. The two had had a heated altercation in the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). While the pacer represented Punjab Kings, the spinner was the face of Sachin Tendulkar’s MI franchise. 

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The scandal involved Harbhajan allegedly hitting Sreesanth during the routine round of handshakes which occurred at the end of the IPL match between Mumbai and Punjab. 

While the controversial incident was not shown on camera, pacer Sreesanth was spotted in tears after the game. Soon after the incident, Harbhajan was banned for the rest of the IPL season at the time.

Now recalling the incident, Harbhajan Singh has opened up about his ‘mistake’ while speaking at the Glance LIVE Fest. He admitted that the incident should not have happened. 

“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,” Harbhajan said.

WATCH:

Harbhajan Singh and sreesanth are together in this video and everyone is watching this and you all must watch this and i hope yoy will love this#BhajjiBoleSorrySreepic.twitter.com/nI7xTYpDjh
— Alpha king  (@_ursbaby) June 4, 2022

After the incident Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had launched a separate investigation which resulted in Harbhajan being banned for 5 ODIs.

Talking about their careers, Harbhajan announced his retirement from cricket in December 2021. He picked up as many as 711 wickets in 367 international matches for India. 

On the other hand, Sreesanth too retired from all forms of cricket just three months back in March 2022. The Kerala man picked up 169 wickets in 90 international matches.