S Sreesanth Opens Up On Relationship With Harbhajan Singh Years After 'Slapggate' Row

While Sreesanth was part of the then Kings XI Punjab team, Harbhajan was plying his trade for the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season of the IPL when the controversy happened.

The veteran off spinner was banned for a while after the slapgate controversy.

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S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were involved in one of the most talked about controversies of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the inaugural edition of the T20 tournament in 2008. The two of them were both part of the national team at that point in time but played for different franchises in the IPL. 

While Sreesanth was part of the then Kings XI Punjab team, Harbhajan was plying his trade for the Mumbai Indians. After one of the matches between their sides, Sreesanth was seen crying after Harbhajan had reportedly slapped him post the match.

The veteran off spinner was banned for a while after what had transpired. Even though Harbhajan has gone on record multiple times saying how he is embarrassed by what he had done, this time around the former India fast bowler has spoken about his relationship with Bhajji.

That was just a misunderstanding: Sreesanth on the slapgate saga

"We have always been friends. That was just a misunderstanding and the media made a big noise out of it. I will just say that Bhajji pa has supported me from the beginning in every way, including recently with commentary tips. He has supported me and helped me a lot and I am very thankful to him. There is that song, 'Tere jaisa yaar kaha', that is my relationship with him," the former Rajasthan Royals pacer said in an interaction with Sports Yaari.

Harbhajan, meanwhile, has already admitted his mistake and even apologised for the same in the past. Both Sreesanth and Harbhajan were part of the Indian team that lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup as well as the 2011 ODI World Cup.

While Harabhajan is a veteran of 103 Test matches, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, Sreesanth played 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is for Team India before the IPL 2013 spot-fixing scandal cut short the seam bowler's cricketing career.