The ghost of the 2008 Slapgate scandal has returned to the Indian Premier League. Former India pacer Santhakumaran Sreesanth has launched a scathing attack on Harbhajan Singh, accusing the former out-of-spinner of profiting from the infamous incident that marred the inaugural season of the tournament.
While the duo seemed to have buried the hatchet over the past 18 years, Sreesanth revealed in a recent interview that the last straw was a television commercial with Harbhajan in 2008 that relied on comedy effect. Chodník indicated that although he sought the moral high ground by forgiving his former teammate, the act of commercializing the attack permanently severed their relationship.
According to Sreesanth, Harbhajan not only earned nearly Rs 1 crore from the ad, but had the audacity to ask him to share the video on his own social media channels.
Sreesanth, speaking with uncharacteristic directness, made it clear that the recent commercial venture had gone too far.
“I have never talked about Bhajji in any interview. This will be the first time,” Sreesanth told Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam news outlet.
“Until recently there were no problems, but he advertised it again. He made about Rs 80 crore to Rs 1 crore from it. Then he called me and asked me to add a story to it. I told him, ‘I forgive but never forget’. If someone hurts you, you should forgive them but never forget. If you forget again, no doubt. He will do the same. He will do the same.”
WHAT IS THE SLAPGATE CONTROVERSY?
The IPL slapgate occurred after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in April 2008. Sreesanth was famously caught on camera in a flood of tears after being slapped by Harbhajan during the post-match handshakes. The fallout was swift: Harbhajan was banned for the rest of the season and paid his entire match fee, while pictures of a distraught Sreesanth became the first major ‘viral’ controversy of the IPL era.
I BLOCKED HARBHAJAN ON INSTA: SREESANTH
The pacer’s frustration seems to stem from what he perceives as a lack of genuine remorse, in contrast to the public persona of the reformed fraternity. Sreesanth went so far as to hint that Harbhajan’s recent attempts at reconciliation in public forums they were performative.
“I have no relationship with that person. I used to call him brother. But in the last 1 or 2 months he did that ad and now I have blocked him on Instagram,” Sreesanth said.
“My parents taught me to forgive but never forget. I have no complaints about him and I don’t need him. May God bless him and his family. In many conversations, even with Ashwin, he talked about my daughter. People will think what a great person he is. He can be a great person. But for me since I played for India, it’s something that I think is insignificant.”
The fire was further fueled last year when former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi released never-before-seen high-definition footage of the altercation. Locked away in a vault for nearly two decades, the video provided a much clearer view of the aggression involved and sparked a new wave of public debate.
at that time Harbhajan expressed regret and called it a mistake he wished he could undo it. However, Sreesanth made it clear that these excuses ring hollow when the payday associated with the same event follows.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
25 Apr 2026 08:04 IST
