(Video) Unseen Footage of Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth Slapgate Incident Goes Public After 17 Years

Lalit Modi chose not to release the 'Slapgate' video because of his close friendship with Harbhajan Singh, to avoid further public backlash.

(Video) Unseen Footage of Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth Slapgate Incident Goes Public After 17 Years

Lalit Modi shared the unseen clip of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth, during the 2008 IPL season. (via NDTV Sports)

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17 years after the infamous IPL ‘slapgate’ incident, a video of the altercation between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth has been made public. The video was most recently shared by ex-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, during a conversation with former Australian captain Michael Clarke. 

Former BCCI vice-president and the founder of the IPL, Lalit Modi is currently living in self-imposed exile in Vanuatu. Most recently, he appeared on ex-Australian batting great Michael Clarke’s Beyond23 Cricket podcast. The 61-year-old discussed a variety of topics, including the future of the sport and his time in Indian cricket. During the interview, Modi made several startling revelations about past controversies.

Among the many things that he disclosed, one was the long-hidden clip of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth, following an IPL 2008 encounter in Mohali. The footage, which was kept under the radar for several years, has now gone viral on social media after being displayed on Clarke’s podcast. The incident occurred on April 28, 2008, after a match between Harbhajan Singh’s Mumbai Indians and Sreesanth’s Kings XI Punjab, which KXIP won by 66 runs.

While initial pictures and reports showed a tearful Sreesanth, no video evidence was publicly available, as the BCCI had archived all the footage. With Lalit Modi releasing the video of the incident, its sequence of events has now become clear. While players from both the teams were shaking hands after the match, an agitated Harbhajan Singh approached Sreesanth and slapped him with the back of his hand.

The former Indian spinner’s act was seemingly in response to Sreesanth’s aggressive send-off to the MI batters during the game. Sreesanth was emotional after being hit, and attempted to charge towards the MI captain. However, KXIP stars Mahela Jayawardene and Irfan Pathan intervened and held Sreesanth back. Harbhajan Singh on the other hand, kept making angry gestures towards the KXIP bowler.

KXIP lodged a formal complaint with the IPL authorities. It was later dubbed ‘slapgate’, and resulted in harsh consequences for Singh, who was banned from playing for the rest of the 2008 IPL season. Lalit Modi disclosed that he and a handful of individuals had access to the clip and that they kept it off the radar. The 61-year-old stated that while the television cameras were turned off at the time, his personal security cameras captured the altercation.

It was Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh], and it was Sreesanth. The game was over, and the cameras were shut off. Only one of my security cameras was on… Harbhajan just said to him, ‘Come here’, and gave him a backhander.

Following disciplinary proceedings, Harbhajan Singh was found guilty of a Level 4.2 offence under the IPL Code of Conduct, and faced severe punishment. Apart from the IPL ban, Singh was also forced to forfeit his entire season’s salary, and was also given a five-match suspension from ODIs.

Harbhajan Singh Recalls Getting Emotional After Sreesanth’s Daughter Confronted Him About ‘Slapgate’

Ex-India spinner Harbhajan Singh was often reprimanded in his career, for his aggressive nature and heated on-field altercations. The most infamous one was the 2008 IPL ‘Slapgate’ controversy, where Singh slapped former India pacer Sreesanth on his face, after a match.

Harbhajan Singh Sreesanth daughter
Harbhajan Singh revealed a heart-breaking moment when Sreesanth’s daughter refused to speak to him. (via NDTV Sports)

Harbhajan Singh on a podcast with R Ashwin, wished he could erase the incident from his career and admitted that he should never have hit Sreesanth. The 45-year-old also admitted that he apologized to the bowler several times afterward. He talked about a moment that left him deeply heart-broken, which was when Sreesanth’s daughter refused to speak to him because he had hit her father, back in 2008. 

What hurt me even after many years was when I met his daughter and I was talking to her with a lot of love and she said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you. You hit my father’.

With Harbhajan Singh having repented his actions later on, the two players have now moved on from the controversy and share good relations. The duo was also a part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning side, and also played together for India several times, until Sreesanth was banned in 2013 for spot-fixing.

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