“Do you have the courage?” Sreesanth challenges Harbhajan Singh to fight in the ring as Slapgate controversy flares up again

Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth NEW DELHI: Former India fast bowler S Sreesanth has reignited his infamous feud with Harbhajan Singh as he rejected the former spinner for a ring fight almost two decades after the infamous IPL ‘Slapgate’ controversy.In explosive remarks delivered during an appearance at Lallantope, Sreesanth accused Harbhajan of repeatedly profiting from the 2008 incident and urged his former India teammate to settle their differences in a real fighting match.“Same scene, do you have the courage? Do you have the courage to go to the ring with me? Can you sign and come?” said Sreesanth, referring to an old promotional picture of the pair wearing boxing gloves.“Are you wearing the same gloves? That’s not playing. I’m smiling. You’re not even smiling, I don’t know what you’re doing. Let’s see. It’s an open challenge,” he added.

“If you got a problem with me, come to the ring”

Sreesanth, who recently joined the Bear’s Knee Fight League, doubled down on his challenge and urged Harbhajan to resolve the issue inside the ring instead of revisiting the controversy through advertisements.“I am currently in the bear knuckle fighting league. I challenge you, Bhajji,” he said. “If you have such a problem with that slap and me and you make so much…let me make too. Come to the ring. I’m calling you from the bottom of my heart.”“If we have any self-respect, let’s not do ads and stuff. Honestly, for all the Malayalis and all the Sardars, please come. I’m waiting,” he said.

Sreesanth says the controversial ad has reopened old wounds

The former pacer revealed that he had never spoken publicly about Harbhajan and the 2008 incident until recently, claiming that the new ad featuring the former spinner has rekindled painful memories.“I have never talked about Bhajji in any interview. This will be the first time,” said Sreesanth Mathrubhumi when the new Harbhajan promo was released. “Until recently, there were no problems, but he advertised it again. He made about Rs 80 crore to Rs 1 crore from it.”Sreesanth said that the ad made him cut ties with Harbhajan again.“If someone hurts you, you should forgive them but never forget. If you forget, they will do the same thing again. He is the biggest example of that,” he said. “I have no relationship with that person. I used to call him brother. But in the last two months he made that ad and now I blocked him on Instagram.”The comments revived memories of the 2008 IPL ‘Slapgate’ episode when Harbhajan, then representing Mumbai Indians, slapped Sreesanth after a match against Kings XI Punjab. Harbhajan later apologized and was suspended for the rest of the season, with the two players appearing to reconcile in the following years.However, Sreesanth’s latest outburst suggests that the wounds from one of Indian cricket’s most controversial off-field incidents are far from healed.