Days after former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi shared unseen footage of the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) incident between Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth, also termed ‘Slapgate’ on Michael Clarke’s YouTube podcast Beyond23 Cricket, Sreesanth’s wife Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth has termed the uploading of the footage “heartless and inhuman”. Writing on her official Instagram stories, Bhuvneshwari stated that both Sreesanth and Harbhajan have moved on from the incident, and that Modi and Clarke were trying to reopen an old wound.
“Shame on you @Lalitkmodi and @Michaelclarkeofficial. You people are not even human to drag up something from 2008 just for your own publicity and views. Both @Sreesanthnair.36 and Harbhajan have long moved on; they are fathers now with children, and yet you try to throw them back into an old wound. Absolutely disgusting, heartless and inhuman,” Bhuvneshwari wrote.
It was in the first edition of the IPL in 2008 that Sreesanth, representing Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), was slapped by interim Mumbai Indians skipper Harbhajan Singh without any provocation after Punjab scored a 66-run win at the IS Bindra PCA International Stadium in Mohali. Until now, various footage of the match did not include the incident, with only visuals of a sobbing Sreesanth appearing on the official broadcast. After the incident, Singh was banned for the remainder of the IPL and suspended by the BCCI for five ODIs. Earlier this week, Lalit Modi released the unseen footage of the incident on Clarke’s show.
“I’ll tell you what happened. I will give you the video. I have kept it back. Bhajji is a very dear friend of mine. I love him. It happened on the field, and I was there. It was Bhajji, and it was Sreesanth. The game was over, and the cameras were shut off. Only one of my security cameras was on. As the team finished playing, the players were high-fiving and shaking hands with each other. When it came to Sreesanth and Bhajji, Harbhajan just said to him, ‘Come here’, and gave him a backhander,” Modi told Clarke on his show.
Forced to relive trauma
Speaking about the hurt caused by Modi’s act, Bhuvneshwari shared how Sreesanth’s family is forced to relive the trauma caused by the incident. “@sreesanthnair36 has rebuilt his life with dignity and grace after every hardship he faced. As his wife, and as mother of his children, it is deeply painful for our family to see this resurface after 18 long years. Families are being forced to relive trauma that was buried decades ago only so you can chase views. This doesn’t just hurt the players; it scares their innocent children who now have to face questions and shame for no fault of theirs. You should be sued for doing something so cheap and inhuman. Sreesanth is a man of strength and character, and no video can take that dignity away from him. Fear god before you hurt families and innocent children for your own gain. @lalitkmodi, @michaelclarkeofficial,” Bhuvneshwari further wrote.
Earlier this year, Singh had talked about the incident on a show with former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin. Singh spoke about how Sreesanth’s daughter refused to speak with him due to the incident. “What hurt me even after many years was when I met his daughter and I was talking to her with a lot of love and she said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you. You hit my father.’ My heart was shattered and I was on the verge of tears. I was asking myself what is the impression I’ve left on her? She must be thinking of me in a poor light, right? She sees me as the guy who hit her father. I felt so bad. I still apologise to his daughter that I can’t do anything,” Singh had said.
