One of the most controversial moments in IPL history has resurfaced, sparking fresh debate. Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi recently revealed unseen footage of the infamous Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth slap incident from the inaugural season in 2008.
The clip was shown during an interview with Australian cricket great Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 podcast, stirring up memories of a controversy that led to Harbhajan’s 11-match suspension and rocked Indian cricket at the time.
Modi Reveals Footage & Incident Details
Speaking to Clarke, Modi recalled the incident in vivid detail, explaining how the confrontation took place after a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
“I’ll tell you what happened. I will give you the video. I have kept it back. Bhajji is a very dear friend of mine. I love him. It happened on the field, and I was there. It was Bhajji, and it was Sreesanth. The game was over, and the cameras were shut off. Only one of my security cameras was on. As the team finished playing, the players were high-fiving and shaking hands with each other. When it came to Sreesanth and Bhajji, Harbhajan just said to him, ‘Come here,’ and gave him a backhander,” Modi revealed.
The release of the footage has stirred emotions once again, even though both players have long moved past the incident and share an amicable relationship today.
Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth Slams Modi & Clarke
While fans debated the decision to bring back the footage, Sreesanth’s wife, Bhuvneshwari, voiced strong disapproval, calling the act “disgusting, heartless, and inhuman.”
Taking to Instagram, she 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.”
She added that reliving such incidents after 18 years forces families to revisit painful memories and unnecessarily subjects their children to shame and questioning.
“You should be sued for doing something so cheap and inhumane. Sreesanth is a man of strength and character, and no video can take that dignity away from him,” she concluded.
Old Wounds, New Debate
The slapgate saga had been buried for nearly two decades, with both Harbhajan and Sreesanth moving on to successful careers post-incident. Yet, the resurfacing of this footage has reopened conversations about media ethics, player privacy, and whether cricket needs to revisit moments best left in the past.
As the controversy simmers, fans are left wondering – should such incidents stay buried, or does history always find a way to return?
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