The inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 made the headlines for being one of the most entertaining and the biggest cricket tournaments in the world. However, the first season also had a forgettable chapter of the infamous ‘slapgate’ incident between Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth. After the IPL 2008 match between King XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Mumbai Indians, former spinner Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth, which left the former pacer in tears. The videos which circulated after the incident, showed the likes of Kumar Sangakkara trying to comfort a teary-eyed Sreesanth.
Following the incident, Harbhajan, who was Mumbai Indians’ captain back then, was banned from participating the remaining season of IPL 2008. Now, 17 years later, Harbhajan has once again issued an apology for his actions.
On X (formerly Twitter), a fan posted a video of the ‘slapgate’ incident and asked Harbhajan for his views.
Reposting the video, Harbhajan wrote, “This wasn’t right bhai. It was my mistake . Shouldn’t hv done this . But Galti hui Insaan hu, Bhagwaan nahi (I am also a human, not God).”
This wasn’t right bhai
It was my mistake . Shouldn’t hv done this . But Galti hui Insaan hu Bhagwaan nahi https://t.co/dXo5fMM86k
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 30, 2025
However, this was not the first time that Harbhajan asked for forgiveness for his actions. Over the years, both the players have reconciled and are now in good terms.
Talking about the ongoing IPL, Mumbai Indians registered their second back-to-back defeat in the ongoing season. On Saturday, the five-time champions succumbed against Gujarat Titans by 36 runs.
“Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places. We were not professional in the field, we made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot. They (GT openers) batted brilliantly, only a couple of deliveries here and there. They were quite exceptional, they didn’t take many chances, they did the right stuff, they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots,” said MI skipper Hardik Pandya after the loss.
“We were doing catch-up since then. At the moment we all need to take responsibility, it’s still early stages. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully they do that soon. On this wicket they (slower deliveries) were the toughest balls, some were shooting, some were bouncing, as batters it becomes difficult. They (GT bowlers) did what I did with the ball,” he added.
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