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18 years down the line since the first edition of the premier Indian T20 franchise league - the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched, its Founder and former Chairman, Lalit Modi has now released the full footage of the viral slapgate incident. The famous altercation, which still remains one of the most-talked about incidents, involved two star Indian players of that time - S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh.
The incident took place in its inaugural edition in 2008 when Mumbai Indians locked horns with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). However, it has come into limelight off late with both the former Indian cricketers apologising to each other and sharing their respective side of story, the then Chairman of the league, Lalit Modi recently unveiled some unseen footage on Michael Clarke’s Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
Unseen video of Harbhajan - Sreesanth’s slap-gate incident from IPL 2008 goes viral
While speaking on Michael Clarke’s podcast, Lalit Modi released unseen video of the viral incident which showed players walking off the field after KXIP’s win. During this incident, Mumbai’s stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh shockingly slapped Sreesanth. Known to be a fiery bowler during his playing days, Sreesanth was seen crying inconsolably on the television.
Speaking on the Beyond23 podcast, Lalit Modi said, “It happened. Absolutely. And I’ll tell you what happened.” “One of my security cameras was on because I was walking onto the field, and it caught the moment. As players were exchanging handshakes, Bhajji just looked at Sreesanth, said something, and gave him a backhander. That’s what the footage shows,” he added. Notably, the moment which Modi revealed has what the TV cameras missed.
Watch the viral video of the incident from IPL 2008:
Though the exact story behind the altercation continues to remain unknown, reports suggested Sreesanth’s on-field remarks may have provoked Harbhajan Singh. The incident had severe actions on the player as Harbhajan was suspended for the remainder of the season, getting 11-match ban.
