Former India bowlers Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth dominated the headlines in the past week after former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi dug deep into the past to revisit a dark episode in the IPL's history.
The inaugural edition of India's premier T20 league is a memorable chapter in the history of Indian cricket, however, it was marred by an on-field controversy involving former India stars Harbhajan and Sreesanth.
After an IPL 2008 league stage match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Singh controversially slapped his then India team-mate Sreesanth on the pitch. While players and staff of both sides were exchanging pleasantries, Harbhajan suddenly raised his hand at the Kerala-born pacer.
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While no footage of the incident was made available to the public by the broadcaster, Sreesanth's image of breaking down into tears went viral everywhere.
However, former IPL chief Lalit Modi, after 18 years, has revealed the video where an infuriated Harbhajan can be seen slapping the Kings XI bowler.
In a conversation with former Australian captain Michael Clarke, Modi discussed the incident and then revealed the video, which quickly went viral on social media platforms.
Modi received criticism from several quarters, including Harbhajan Singh himself. Sreesanth's wife, Bhuvneshwari, too, reacted strongly as old controversies were getting dug up.
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Ashwin slams Lalit Modi for leaking Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth slapgate video
Now, former Indian spinner, R Ashwin has reacted to the episode, as he slammed Modi for digging up old skeletons for publicity.
On his YouTube channel, the 38-year-old said: "It’s the head of Anaconda that keeps on rising. In the modern era, you have video footage of everything and everywhere. So this kind of resurfacing will keep happening.
"But I feel, see, this moment is not the proudest in both the player’s lives. Why raise it again? Why aggravate it unnecessarily? Sreesanth’s wife also put out a post. I think we should address it minimally."
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Ashwin added: "See, it’s done. Harbhajan spoke about the same in our podcast earlier and how he felt. You have done something wrong and you have to live with it. There are no two ways there. But we move past it, right? Some might have done something similar in the confines of their homes and that’s why we don’t know of it. There is no point in moral policing an issue that is done and dated. They have apologised, moved past it and I think the rest of the world should do it too."