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Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has broken his silence on the infamous “slapgate” video, which was recently made public by former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi.
Modi, speaking on Michael Clarke's podcast Beyond 23, revealed footage for the first time showing Harbhajan striking pacer S Sreesanth after a 2008 IPL clash between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). At the time, broadcasters had cut to commercials, and the only visuals fans saw were of Sreesanth in tears, being comforted by teammates like Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene.
The leaked video shows Harbhajan delivering a back-handed slap during the post-match handshake. Sreesanth immediately confronted him, and tensions escalated before players from both sides stepped in to defuse the situation.
Speaking at a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration, Harbhajan expressed disappointment over the timing and manner of the video’s release.
“The way the video has been leaked is wrong. It shouldn’t have happened. There seems to be a selfish motive behind it. This happened 18 years ago—people had moved on, but now it’s being brought back,” he told Instant Bollywood.
The former off-spinner admitted regret and once again apologized for his actions. “I feel bad for what happened. We were playing, emotions were high, and mistakes were made. I’ve accepted mine and feel ashamed about it. I’ve always said I made a mistake, and humans do make mistakes. I even prayed to Lord Ganesh to forgive me if I err again,” Harbhajan said.
This isn’t the first time he has spoken about the incident. On Ravichandran Ashwin’s podcast earlier, Harbhajan acknowledged he would never repeat such an act if given a chance to rewind time. He also stressed that his relationship with Sreesanth is now cordial.
The 2008 slapgate incident triggered strict action from the BCCI and IPL authorities, who banned Harbhajan for 11 matches and withheld his match fees for violating the code of conduct.
