After 17 long years, the most infamous IPL video has finally seen the light of day. The video of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth during an IPL 2008 match between the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) has been released by ex-IPL chairman Lalit Modi.
Except for the fact that Harbhajan smacked Sreesanth, nobody really understood what had happened over the years. The coverage had switched to advertisements when the incident occurred, and when live streaming resumed, the sight of Sreesanth sobbing rocked the cricket community. These were colleagues from the same squad who were Indian.
Since then, Harbhajan and Sreesanth have put their differences aside and grown close. But after 17 long years, the video that caused a stir during the tournament was eventually made public when it was shown on Michael Clarke's Beyond23 podcast by former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
"I'll tell you what happened. I will give you the video. I have kept it back. Bhajji is a very dear friend of mine. I love him. It happened on the field, and I was there. It was Bhajji, and it was Sreesanth. The game was over, and the cameras were shut off. Only one of my security cameras was on. As the team finished playing, the players were high-fiving and shaking hands with each other. When it came to Sreesanth and Bhajji. Harbhajan just said to him, ‘Come here,' and gave him a backhander," Modi told Clarke on his show.
While shaking hands, a visibly angry Harbhajan Singh landed a hard backhanded slap on Sreesanth. However, Sreesanth did not hold back either after realizing what had happened. He charged at Harbhajan, causing the senior spinner to react similarly.
They nearly got into a brawl until Sreesanth was mercifully grabbed by Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene and drew back. After that, Pathan approached Harbhajan as well, but the seasoned spinner was not amenable and pointed beyond the stadium, practically daring him to meet him there.
This was the first IPL controversy. A beaming Sreesanth approaching the MI skipper and saying "hard luck" after his team lost the match by 66 runs was what set Harbhajan off.
The Mumbai team was not pleased with Sreesanth's dismissal of Shaun Pollock and his subsequent conversation with Robin Uthappa, who was leading MI's pursuit. Even though Harbhajan later expressed regret for the situation in the dressing room, the picture of Sreesanth crying is still one of the most iconic pictures in IPL history.
Harbhajan Singh was slapped with a huge fine and was suspended for the rest of the IPL 2008 tournament, with Shaun Pollock taking over as MI captain.
