Harbhajan Singh recalls infamous Sreesanth slapgate row: 'I made a mistake, It should not have happened'

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh regrets slapping his former teammate S Sreesanth and said what happened between them was wrong and was a mistake on his part. The infamous slapgate row unfolded during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 and took the season by a storm. The infamous episode involved Harbhajan and Sreesanth, who were playing for Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) respectively.

The incident happened during a game between Punjab and Mumbai at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in IPL 2008. Mumbai Indians lost the game by 66 runs. Harbhajan was leading MI in the absence of regular skipper Sachin Tendulkar. He reportedly slapped Sreesanth after getting annoyed by his comments during the routine handshake between the two teams.

While the incident was not caught on camera and not aired by the official broadcaster, Sreesanth was later seen sobbing on the field. Harbhajan was handed a ban for five ODIs by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The board also launched an investigation into the matter.

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Harbhajan had already apologised to Sreesanth on a few occasions in the past and recently opened up on the infamous incident once again during a chat with renowned cricketer presenter Vikram Sathaye and Sreesanth himself on Glance LIVE.

Recalling the controversial incident, Harbhajan said if he had the chance to correct one mistake from the past it would be how he treated Sreesanth on the field. The former India spinner admitted that his actions were not right and that he made a mistake by slapping his former India teammate.

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“What happened was wrong. I made a mistake. Because of me, my teammate had to face embarrassment. I was embarrassed. If I had to correct one mistake, it was how I treated Sreesanth on the field. It should not have happened. When I think about it, I feel there was no need,” Harbhajan said.

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Harbhajan and Sreesanth shared the Indian dressing room for a number of years. After the infamous slap gate row, the duo went on to become a part of India's 2011 ODI World Cup-winning team under MS Dhoni. Both were important members of the Indian bowling attack in the tournament.

While Harbhajan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 2021 with 417 Test and 269 ODI wickets to his name, Sreesanth retired from cricket in March earlier this year. The fast bowler played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is in his international career picking up a total of 169 wickets across formats.