'Shame on you': S. Sreesanth's wife slams Lalit Modi for releasing slapgate video
PTC News Desk: Former cricketer S. Sreesanth’s wife, Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth, strongly criticized ex-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and former Australian batter Michael Clarke for releasing previously unseen footage of the infamous "slapgate" incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth. Condemning their actions as “disgusting, heartless, and inhuman,” she stressed that both players had long moved on from the episode.
Taking to her Instagram story, Bhuvneshwari wrote, "Shame on you @lalitkmodi and @michaelclarkeofficial. You people are not even human to drag up something from 2008 just for your own cheap publicity and views. Both @sreesanthnair36 and Harbhajan have long moved on, they are fathers now with school-going children, and yet you try to throw them back into an old wound. Absolutely disgusting, heartless, and inhuman."
The footage was shown on the latest episode of Clarke’s Beyond23 Podcast, where he and Modi revealed the clip from an IPL 2008 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab). In it, Harbhajan, who captained MI at the time, was seen striking Sreesanth with the back of his hand during the post-match handshake after MI’s 66-run defeat.
The clip, never made public until now, also captured Sreesanth breaking down in tears, being comforted by his captain, Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene. Harbhajan later appeared to approach Sreesanth again in an animated manner before Irfan Pathan and Jayawardene stepped in to defuse the tension.
"I had kept that video. The game was over, and the cameras had shut off. One of my security cameras was on because I was walking in the field. It was caught as the teams finished playing. The players were going thanking each other and shaking hands. One team was going one way, the other team was going the opposite way, and then it came down to Sreesanth and Bhajji. Bhajji just looks at him, said something, and gave him a backhander. I had not put it out for so long - it has been 18 years now," said Modi as quoted by Wisden.
"I sat them both down afterwards and had to penalise Bhajji in the meeting. He received an eight-match suspension, although some people were calling for a lifetime suspension. It was a new league, lots of passion, but I found it offensive. It was not just about Bhajji or Sreesanth; we needed to set an example, we needed to set boundaries," he said.
- PTC NEWS
