India legend gets involved in Harbhajan Singh-S Sreesanth slapgate controversy after video leak
Published - 01 Sep 2025, 04:40 PM | Updated - 01 Sep 2025, 05:31 PM
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The infamous “slapgate” from the inaugural season of the IPL has resurfaced in the most dramatic fashion, leaving one and all shocked and awkward. For 17 years, the cricket world only knew one thing that Harbhajan Singh had slapped S. Sreesanth in a heated moment during an IPL 2008 clash between the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
The mystery was finally exposed in a shocking way last week by the former founder and IPL chairman, Lalit Modi. He shared the unseen footage of that infamous “slapgate” incident on the former Australian captain Michael Clarke’s podcast.
Farokh Engineer breaks the silence on the infamous slapgate incident
The clip revealed Harbhajan Singh striking Sreesanth with a shocking backhand across the face, leaving the fast bowler and other players on the spot stunned.
The release of the video has reopened the old wound. Sreesanth’s wife publicly slammed Lalit Modi and Michael Clarke’s controversial move, calling them out for dragging the incident into the spotlight after so many years.
Adding to the drama, legendary Indian cricketer Farokh Engineer, who was the match referee that night when the infamous “slapgate” episode unfolded, has also broken his silence. For nearly two decades, Engineer had kept the details confidential, and now the former IPL chairman made it public, which was surprising for him.
I'm surprised that the footage has emerged after 17 years: Farokh Engineer
Farokh Engineer was quoted as saying by Mid-Day: “I'm surprised that the footage has emerged after all these years. As match referee for that particular match, I maintained confidentiality throughout and didn't speak about the contents of the incident even to the best of my friends in the media.”
He added, “I had a job to do as match referee, and I believe I did it [well] with dignified silence. It’s a thing of the past, and I’m sure both players have long buried their differences. Like many other things in cricket, it was done in the heat of the moment. Harbhajan is a good friend. We move on.”
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Harbhajan Singh slams Michael Clarke and Lalit Modi for releasing the slapgate video
Even Harbhajan Singh also reacted to Clarke and Modi’s act. The former off-spinner admitted once again that it was his mistake and said he still feels ashamed of the incident. However, Harbhajan criticized the duo for their selfish motive.
The former World Cup winner said that people have forgotten about that incident, but they are now reminding them about it. Harbhajan Singh said that he feels bad for whatever happened, saying mistakes happened, and he feels “ashamed” about it.
Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by Instant Bollywood: “Humans make mistakes, and I made one too. I have requested Lord Ganesh to forgive me if I make a mistake again. But the way the video has been leaked, it's wrong. It shouldn't have happened. They might have a selfish motive behind it.”
Recently, Lalit Modi defended his decision to release the clip after 17 years, saying he only shared the truth when Michael Clarke asked him about it. Modi added that no one had questioned him on the matter before, and he described Sreesanth as the victim in the incident.
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