Harbhajan Singh alleges 'selfish motive' behind the release of slapgate clip
A pot, rested aside for as many as 17 years, was stirred recently. Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi recently appeared on the Beyond23 podcast. In conversation with former Australia captain Michael Clarke, Modi touched upon the infamous 'slapgate' incident. The inaugural IPL season had been jolted by the controversy, now etched in history as one of its darkest moments. At the end of a league-stage clash between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Harbhajan Singh lost his composure. The agitated MI spinner slapped Sreesanth after the defeat, leaving the KXIP bowler in tears.
Harbhajan Singh reacts to the release of the controversial slapgate clip
The slapgate from IPL 2008 is a well-known anecdote, still remembered by the Indian audience as the most controversial moment in the history of the T20 league. However, as sensational as the incident was, the actual clip of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth never came out in public. The post-match moment was covered by advertisements during the live broadcast. The subsequent visual showed Sreesanth sobbing inconsolably, confirming the incident.
IPL recently completed its 18th edition. In these 17 years, during which the Indian tournament stamped its position as the biggest T20 league in the world, the slapgate clip was kept well under the covers. However, that changed recently when Lalit Modi joined Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 podcast. The conversation touched upon the slapgate controversy, and this time, the former IPL chairman showed the actual slapgate clip.
The video shows Harbhajan hitting Sreesanth with a backhanded slap during the customary handshakes between the teams. The spinner's act led to Sreesanth charging at him before Mahela Jayawardene and Irfan Pathan separated them. In the 17 years since the incident, both Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth have moved on and made peace with each other. The duo has made several appearances together since then.
Moreover, Harbhajan Singh, on multiple occasions, has publicly apologised for his actions. The former MI pick recently appeared on the "Kutti Stories" podcast with Ravichandran Ashwin. The spinner mentioned slapgate during the conversation, terming the event an unfortunate one. Harbhajan went on to say that he would undo the slap if he ever got a chance to change one thing in his life. However, both parties were forced to relive the incident once again as the slapgate clip went viral on the internet.
Lalit Modi and Michael Clarke have been severely criticised for releasing the clip that had been buried all these years. Sreesanth's wife, Bhuvneshwari, ripped the duo apart in a series of Instagram stories, shaming Lalit Modi and Clarke. The former cricketer's wife went on to say that their act calls for legal action, accusing them of reviving the trauma just to gain views. Now, Harbhajan Singh himself has reacted to the debacle.
The former Indian spinner was asked about the recently released clip. Harbhajan criticised the release of the video, alleging that there must be a 'selfish motive' behind bringing up an incident from the past. The reopening of the row led to Harbhajan apologising for his act once again. The MI spinner was banned for the remainder of the season after he slapped Sreesanth in IPL 2008. Moreover, the Turbanator also lost his match fees and was punished severely for breaching the code of conduct.
“The way the video has been leaked, it's wrong. It shouldn't have happened. They might have a selfish motive behind it. Something that happened 18 years ago, people have forgotten, and they are reminding people about it," Harbhajan said. “I feel bad for whatever happened. We were playing, and everyone had things going on in their mind. Mistakes happened, and we do feel ashamed about it,” he added.
“Yes, the video has gone viral. It was an unfortunate incident, and I have said on many occasions that I made a mistake. Humans make mistakes, and I did one too. I have requested Lord Ganesh to forgive me if I make a mistake again. Mistakes happen,” he said further.
Several parties have since commented on the recent release of the slapgate clip. Well-known sports presenter Harsha Bhogle revealed that the video was deliberately kept hidden to avoid any damage to the IPL’s reputation in its inaugural season. Meanwhile, the match referee at the time, former Indian cricketer Farokh Engineer, also expressed shock at the video resurfacing after all these years.
"I'm surprised that the footage has emerged after all these years. As match referee for that particular match, I maintained confidentiality throughout and didn't speak about the contents of the incident even to the best of my friends in the media," Engineer said, reacting to the release.
