Lalit Modi releases Harbhajan Singh slapping video after 18 years; Sreesanth's wife calls it 'disgusting'

All these years, no one quite knew what had happened, except for the fact that Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) defeated the Mumbai Indians in a match from the first-ever edition of the Indian Premier League.

It so happened that when the incident took place, the coverage had cut to commercials, and when the live streaming came back on, the visuals of Sreesanth crying sent absolute shockwaves through the cricketing world.

Ever since their verbal and physical feud on the field, Harbhajan and Sreesanth have buried the hatchet and gone on to become good friends. However, after 17 long years, the clip that sent ripples through the tournament has finally been released after former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi aired it on Michael Clarke's Beyond23 podcast.

"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. I had not put it out for so long – it has been 18 years now," Modi told Clarke on his show.

"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 was not just about Bhajji or Sreesanth; we needed to set an example, we needed to set boundaries," he said.

In the clip, Harbhajan struck Sreesanth with a backhanded slap when the players of one team were shaking hands with the other after the match. Harbhajan got physical with his India teammate, leaving everyone in shock. But once Sreesanth realised what had happened, he didn't hold back either. He also retaliated against Harbhajan, evoking the same reaction. Sreesanth was grabbed by Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene and pulled back. Irfan Pathan then went up to Harbhajan as well.

Netizens weren't pleased with Lalit Modi releasing the clip after almost a decade.

Even former cricketer S. Sreesanth's wife, Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth, lashed out at ex-Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi and ex-Australian batter Michael Clarke for revealing the never-before-seen footage of Harbhajan Singh's slapgate incident with the pacer. Pointing out how both players have moved on from the incident, she termed the Modi-Clarke act as "disgusting, heartless and inhuman."

This incident led to an eight-match ban on Harbhajan. On the ban received by 'Bhajji,' Modi said he found the incident offensive and that boundaries needed to be set.

Taking to her Instagram story, Bhuvneshwari wrote, "Shame on you @lalitkmodi and @michaelclarkeofficial. You people are not even human to drag up something from 2008 just for your own cheap publicity and views. Both @sreesanthnair36 and Harbhajan have long moved on; they are fathers now with school-going children, and yet you try to throw them back into an old wound. Absolutely disgusting, heartless, and inhuman."

In another story, she pointed out how the footage's emergence has been "painful" for her family and added that both should be sued for not just hurting the players, but "scarring their innocent children who now have to face questions and shame for no fault of theirs."

Recently, Harbhajan had reflected on this incident on Indian cricket legend Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel.

Harbhajan Singh regrets his actions

He said, "One thing I'd want to change in my life is the incident with Sreesanth. I want to remove that incident from my career. That is the incident I would change from my list. What transpired was wrong, and I shouldn't have done what I did. I apologised 200 times," he said.

"What I felt so bad was even years after that incident, I have been apologising every opportunity or stage I get. It was a mistake. We all make mistakes, and we hope and try to never repeat such mistakes. He was my teammate, and we were playing together. Yes, in that game we were opponents. But it shouldn't have gone to that level where we behave in such a manner. So yeah, that was my fault, and the only fault of his was that he provoked me, but that's okay, actually. However, what I did was not okay. I said Sorry."

"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.' My heart was shattered and I was on the verge of tears. I was asking myself what impression I've left on her? She must be thinking of me in a poor light, right? She sees me as the guy who hit her father. I felt so bad. I still apologise to his daughter that I can't do anything," he added.

"I keep telling her, 'but if there's anything I can do to make you feel better and make you think I'm not that kind of person, please tell me'. I wish that when she grows up, she doesn't see me in the same light. And think her uncle will always be with her and extend any kind of support he can. That's why I want to remove that chapter."