‘Didn’t cry in pain but…’: S Sreesanth recalls ‘slapgate’ incident in IPL 2008 involving Harbhajan Singh

Sreesanth has once again spoken about the infamous ‘Slapgate’ incident from the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League in 2008. It is worth mentioning that the then Kings XI Punjab pacer Sreesanth and former Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh had a heated argument between the two sides during a match. Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth and he ended up crying. The action resulted in Harbhajan being banned for the remainder of that edition’s tournament. While speaking on The Ranveer Show, Sreesanth said that he did not cry because of the pain but because of the bond he had with Harbhajan.

“If you look at it, it was a 30-second video or something, but the media showed it as if…,” Sreesanth said, before the anchor added that it was the biggest IPL news story. “Yes / Yes. Incredible. So I will say Bhajji pa. Even now I address him as ‘Bhajji pa’ and he is someone who always… Whenever I had an important spell or something I didn’t do well, I did it.” Go and hug Bhajji pa. And somehow it is the vibe or maybe the positivity that Paaji exudes, I have always expressed the performance.

“When this incident occurred, I was shocked. I cried not because of pain, but because of my heart. I couldn’t stand the fact that he was going to do it and I wasn’t worried about who was watching. Maybe the child was there. “Me as the younger brother when an older brother shouted, and he was right, because before the game he actually told me that you shouldn’t exaggerate your aggression against us.”

Sreesanth also made a big revelation about his time in the national team.

“All my life I’ve been… I can say that. Check it all out below. Bombay was more like Madrasi. I heard it from the time I played U13, U14, U16 and U16. 19. Then we had the Kochi team (Tuskers Kerala) and it was like playing for the country again,” he said.