Seventeen years after it shook the Indian Premier League, the first-ever footage of the Harbhajan Singh–S Sreesanth 'slapgate' has been released by former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
The incident, which occurred after a match between the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in the inaugural 2008 season, was widely reported on, but had no video evidence available – until now.
The clip, shared by Lalit Modi during the Beyond23 podcast with Michael Clarke, shows Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth with the back of his hand during the customary post-match handshake. At the time, Harbhajan was leading the Mumbai Indians in Sachin Tendulkar’s absence, and his team had just suffered a heavy 66-run defeat to Punjab.
In the footage, Sreesanth is left visibly distraught, breaking down in tears. Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is seen comforting him when Harbhajan returns towards Sreesanth, making an animated gesture. At this point, Irfan Pathan also steps in to diffuse the situation, with Jayawardene pushing Sreesanth away from the scene.
Modi revealed that the moment was never captured by broadcast cameras, which had been switched off at the end of play. Instead, it was recorded by one of his personal security cameras. “I had kept that video. The game was over, and the cameras had shut off. One of my security cameras was on because I was walking in the field.
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“It was caught as the teams finished playing. The players were going thanking each other and shaking hands. One team was going one way, the other team was going the opposite way, and then it came down to Sreesanth and Bhajji. Bhajji just looks at him, said something, and gave him a backhander. I hadn’t put it out for so long - it’s been 18 years now.”
Harbhajan: One thing I'd want to change in my career is this incident
The incident led to an eight-match ban for the off-spinner, and Modi states why the heavy suspension was given to Harbhajan. “I sat them both down afterwards and had to penalise Bhajji in the meeting. He received an eight-match suspension, although some people were calling for a lifetime suspension. It was a new league, lots of passion, but I found it offensive. It wasn’t just about Bhajji or Sreesanth; we needed to set an example, we needed to set boundaries.”
Recently, Harbhajan had expressed his regret about the incident on R Ashwin’s YouTube channel, saying: "One thing I'd want to change in my life is that incident with Sreesanth. I want to remove that incident from my career. What transpired was wrong, and I shouldn't have done what I did. I apologised 200 times. What I felt so bad about was that even years after that incident, I have been apologising every opportunity or stage I get. It was a mistake.”
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