Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has opened up on the 'slapgate' video made viral, 17 years after the forgettable incident. Although the former cricketer wholeheartedly accepted his mistake, the 45-year-old stated that it was wrong to make the video public.
Having made an appearance during Beyond23 podcast, former IPL chairman Lalit Modi was in a conversation with ex-Australian captain Michael Clarke and showed the actual video of Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth in IPL 2008. The video spread like wildfire, with even Sreesanth's wife slamming both Modi and Clarke for making it public.
Speaking in a video posted by Instant Bollywood on Instagram, Harbhajan said:
"Video Viral hui hai. Itna unfortunate incident hai, jiske baare mein main kahi manch pe bol chuka hoon ki mujhse galti hui hai. Galtiyan hoti hai insaan se, aur mere se bhi galti hui thi aur us galti ko har stage pe bola hai. Aaj bappa ke paas aaya hoon, unse bhi kaha ki mujhse koi galti hui hai aur aage bhi hogi toh, hum toh bhoolne waalon mein se hai. Tum bakshne waalon mein se ho. Hume bakshna. Insaan hai. Galtiyan hoti rehti hai."
(Yes, the video has gone viral. It was an unfortunate incident and I have said on many occasions that I made a mistake. Humans make mistakes and I did one too. I have requested Lord Ganesh to forgive me if I make a mistake again. Mistakes happen.)
The 103-Test veteran suspected a selfish motive of those releasing it, stating:
"Lekin jis tarah se video bahar nikaala gaya hai, that's very wrong. Kisi bhi tareeke ki nahin karni chahiye thi, shayad usme unka koi selfish motive hoga. Jo baat 18 saal pehle hui hai, usko log bhool chuke hain. aur dobaara usko yaad karwa rahe hain. I feel bad for whatever happened. Khel rahe hain. Sabki apni apni dimaag ki cheezein chal rahi hoti hai. Galtiyan karte hain, jiske liye hum sharmindagi mehsoos karte hain."
(But the way the video has been unveiled, it's wrong. It shouldn't have happened. They might have a selfish motive behind it. Something that happened 18 years ago, people have forgotten and they are reminding people about it. I feel bad for whatever happened. We were playing and everyone has things going on in their mind. Mistakes happened and we do feel ashamed about it.)
Harbhajan Singh was handed a 11-match ban following that altercation
The veteran cricketer copped a 11-match ban following that altercation. Farokh Engineer, who was then referee, slapped a 100% fine of his match on Harbhajan. Mumbai Indians' then coach Lalchand Rajput also faced a 50% fine for not taking any steps to restrain the off-spinner before the incident.
Harbhajan's last of 163 IPL games came in 2021, plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
