Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has openly apologised to Sreesanth for slapping him after a game in the IPL 2008. During the first-ever edition of the Indian Premier League, Harbhajan Singh played for Mumbai Indians, while Sreesanth turned out for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
Harbhajan, the Mumbai Indians' stand-in captain, slapped Kings XI Punjab pacer Sreesanth following a match in Mohali. It became one of the league's defining early scandals, and the BCCI suspended Harbhajan for the remainder of the season.
Despite winning a World Cup alongside him later, the former India spinner has apologised to Sreesanth once more for the controversial 2008 IPL slap incident. But this time, he addressed it in an unusually straightforward manner.
"If I had to remove a single incident from my playing days, I'd remove that incident. Whatever happened that day wasn't right on my part, and I have no shame in saying openly that it was my mistake,” Harbhajan Singh said on a show named “Midwicket Stories”.
He addressed the provocation directly without excusing his reaction to it.
"Whatever he told me, it's all right, but to go to that extent, to get that ugly, I'm not going into too many details, but accepting that it was my fault," Harbhajan said.
He also recalled meeting Sreesanth’s daughter but was rebuked by her, who remembered him as the one person who had slapped her father.
"I met his daughter after many years, and I went to say hi to her. She said, 'No, I don't want to talk to you.' All she remembered was that incident,” Harbhajan said.
He reflected on what that moment revealed to him. He closed the apology by addressing Sreesanth and his family directly.
“That's not right. We need to give good memories to the kids, but that memory, which lasted for so long in that kid's mind, wasn't right on my part. I'm sorry once again, Shri, and to his family, for whatever happened that day, and to that kid. She's like my girl. She's like my baby. I'm sorry," Harbhajan said.
Harbhajan has previously apologised for the slapgate, including during previous discussions, and has admitted that it is his biggest professional regret. What distinguishes this version is the unequivocal acknowledgement that he caused the escalation himself, rather than portraying it solely as a reaction to Sreesanth's post-match comments.
