Sreesanth Breaks Silence On IPL ‘Slapgate’, Slams Harbhajan Singh, Says 'I’ll Forgive But Never Forget'

Eighteen years after the infamous IPL “slapgate” controversy, former India fast bowler Sreesanth has strongly criticised ex-spinner Harbhajan Singh, accusing him of profiting from the incident.

Sreesanth’s comments were triggered by a recent advertisement in which Harbhajan is shown shouting at a group of people trying to fix electronic items by hitting them, saying, “Sahi se thappad lagao, sab theek ho jata hain" (Slap them properly. You can fix everything.)

Sreesanth alleged Harbhajan Singh of profiting from 'Slapgate'

The former pacer said he had never spoken publicly about Harbhajan or the incident before, but the ad upset him so much that he immediately blocked Harbhajan on Instagram.

"I have never spoken about Bhajji in any interview. This is going to be the first time. Until recently there were no problems, but he made an ad about it once again. He made around Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore off it. He then called me and asked me to put a story on it. I told him, ‘I'll forgive but I'll never forget’," Sreesanth told Malayalam news outlet 'Mathrubhumi'.

"If someone wrongs you, you should forgive them but never forget. If you forget, they will do the same thing again. He is the biggest example for that. There is no doubt about that. I have no relationship with that person. I used to call him a brother. But in that last 1 or 2 months he did that ad and now I have blocked him on Instagram," he added.

"My parents have taught me to forgive but never forget. I don't have any complaints against him, nor do I need him. May God bless him and his family. In many interviews, even with Ashwin, he talked about my daughter. People will think oh what a great person he is. He might be a great person. But for me from my time playing for India to now, in my opinion, it's all an act. That act is something Sreesanth doesn't accept," said Sreesanth.

When did Slapgate incident happened?

Sreesanth was at the centre of the original “slapgate” incident during the first IPL season in 2008. In a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, a heated argument between him and Harbhajan ended with Harbhajan slapping him. The incident drew massive media attention and criticism. Harbhajan later apologised, but he was banned for the remainder of the season after a disciplinary hearing.

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Why Slapgate came back into the spotlight?

The controversy came back into the spotlight last year when an unseen video of the incident went viral on social media. It was shared by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi during an interview with former Australian captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.

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Reacting to that, Harbhajan told IANS, "Whatever happened 18 years ago, bringing it up again in public, I really don’t understand the motive behind that. I don’t know what he was thinking when he released the video—maybe he was under the influence or just messing around. If I were in his place, I wouldn’t have let any such video come out like that."