Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh finally spoke up regarding the slapgate video being made public by former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi. Last week, Modi, who has held the BCCI President post in the past, appeared for a chat on Michael Clarke’s podcast titled ‘Beyond 23’, and it was there that he for the first time unveiled the video, showcasing how Harbhajan Singh slapped former India pacer S Sreesanth following the conclusion of the 2008 IPL game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
It must be mentioned that when the incident happened in 2008, the actual footage was not shown on TV as the broadcasters cut to commercials. When the footage came back on, one only saw Sreesanth in tears and being consoled by the rest of his teammates, such as Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene.
In the video Modi unveiled, Harbhajan strikes the former India pacer with a back-handed slap when players from both teams shake hands following the conclusion of the game.
Sreesanth then charged towards Harbhajan, and a brawl-like situation unfolded. However, players from both teams managed to intervene, and the two were finally separated.
Harbhajan recently attended the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, and he was asked about his reaction to the clip being made public and fans seeing what exactly happened between him and Sreesanth.
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Speaking to Instant Bollywood, he said, “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.”
“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.
‘Unfortunate incident’
The former Indian spinner, also known as the Turbanator, once again apologised for his actions, saying he made a mistake.
“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,” said Harbhajan.
Earlier, Harbhajan appeared on the podcast hosted by Ravichandran Ashwin. The spinner then apologised for his actions, saying that if he could go back in time, he would have never slapped Sreesanth. However, he also stated that he now shares a good equation with the former Indian pacer.
The slapgate incident didn’t sit well with the BCCI and the IPL’s organising committee, who banned Harbhajan for 11 matches. He also lost his fees as he was found guilty of breaching the code of conduct.
