Harbhajan Singh opens up on his feeling about the ‘Slapgate’ incident involving S Sreesanth

S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were a part of the Indian team in the 2011 World Cup. They also played together in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Sreesanth will forever be etched in the memories of the Indian cricketing fans for the catch that he took of Misbah-ul-Haq and which led India to lift the inaugural T20 World Cup trophy.

While they have shared quite a bit of time in the dressing room of the national team. They are also remembered for the famous ‘Slapgate’ incident in the Indian T20 League 2008. The incident took place during a match between Punjab and Mumbai.

Just after the match, Sreesanth was seen in tears just before the post-match presentation ceremony. Further investigation brought forward the fact that Harbhajan Singh had slapped the pacer over some verbal spat. As Harbhajan was proved guilty in the incident he was banned for the rest of that particular season. He was also banned for five international matches owing to which he missed the Asia Cup in Pakistan in 2008.

During a conversation with Vikram Sathaye at Glance Live fest, Harbhajan opened up on the incident and 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 had happened. When I think about it, I feel there was no need,”- Harbhajan added.

However, both the players settled the issue and later stated that there was no bad blood between them. Harbhajan moved ahead to become a legend for India. He also had a stellar career in the cash-rich league where he went on to win the trophy with Mumbai as a captain and also took the team to Champions League glory. He later went on to play for Kolkata and Chennai also.

On the other hand, Sreesanth’s career took a southward turn as he was alleged for spot-fixing and suspended from cricket by the BCCI. However, he proves his innocence and returned to action. The pacer ultimately announced his retirement in March 2022. Sreesanth had 169 international wickets to his name from 90 matches.