Last Updated: April 05, 2023, 09:16 AM IST
Harbhajan Singh (left) and S Sreesanth. (AFP Photo)
Harbhajan Singh has in the past has said he was embarrassed by the ‘slapgate’ incident during the first season of IPL
One of the abiding memories from the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League is the incident involving two former India stars Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth. ‘Slapgate’ as it came to be known resulted in Harbhajan being banned from 11 IPL matches after he was found guilty of slapping Sreesanth after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Mohali in 2008.
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Recently, during a show on Star Sports reminiscing memories from India’s 2011 World Cup title winning campaign, when Virender Sehwag recalled that infamous incident, Harbhajan was quick to interrupt and asked him to forget it.
Sehwag’s comment came after Sreesanth narrated how before any Test match, he would hug Harbhajan.
“I want to share something. Before any Test, I used to hug Bhajji pa becaue I would perform better,” Sreesanth, who was part of the show alongside Sehwag, Habhajan and Yusuf Pathan said.
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“This hugging began since than incident in Mohali,” Sehwag chimed in.
Harbhajan quickly asked his former India teammate to get over it.
“Bhool jao yaar! (Let’s forget it man!)” Harbhajan said.
Sreesanth added, “No no, it’s (hugging) before that, since 2006.”
Last year, Harbhajan had said he feels embarrassed about that entire episode that left Sreesanth in tears.
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“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,” the 42-year-old had said during an interview.
Sreesanth termed the ‘slapgate’ as a ‘misunderstanding’ and accused media of blowing it out of proportions.
“We have always been friends. That was just a misunderstanding and the media made a big noise out of it. I will just say that Bhajji pa has supported me from the beginning in every way, including recently with commentary tips,” Sreesanth was quoted as saying by India Today.
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