One of the most controversial moments in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was finally revealed. In fact, the former founder and president of the IPL, Lalit Modi, published the invisible images of the famous “Slapgate” incident involving Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth in 2008.
In the infamous incident, the Mumbai Indian Spinner Harbhajan Singh, slapped Sreesanth from Punjab Kings Pacer during the IPL inaugural season in 2008. This incident was hidden from the public for almost two decades, because only brief reports and word of mouths circulated between fans and the media.
Now Lalit Modi has published the invisible video on the podcast of the former captain of Australia Michael Clarke Beyond23 Cricket. The video shows Harbhajan striking Sreesanth on the field while players from the two teams aligned themselves for the usual handshake.
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Sreesanth looks visibly shaken and tries to face Harbhajan after slap. Harbhajan also advances, intensifying the tension on the ground. The situation could have become uncontrollable, but Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene quickly intervened to calm things.
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Pathan selected Sreesanth while facing Harbhajan. At one point, the video shows Harbhajan pointing to the boundary strings, seeming to challenge Pathan to fight outside the game area. At the time, the television cameras were extinguished.
The full incident has only been captured on the security camera of the former office of the president of the IPL at the time and has remained private so far. Now, the publication of this gross sequence has revived discussions between the fraternity of cricket, reminding everyone the famous “slapgate” incident.
Harbhajan Singh gave S Sreesanth a back-garde: Lalit Modi
Lalit Modi declared on the podcast Beyond23 Cricket: “Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) is a very dear friend to me. I love him. It happened in the field, and I was there. It was Bhajji, and it was Sreesanth.
I was getting out of the field. While the team had finished playing, the players raised themselves and hugged their hands. Regarding Sreesanth and Bhajji. Bhajji just looked at him and said to him, “Come here” and gave him a backhander. Here is the video we were talking about. I haven’t taken it out for so long.
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The former president of the IPL also added: “I seated them both, and I had to penalize Bhajji at this meeting. I penalized it for eight games. Some people have managed a life suspension, but we decided that it was a new league. Everyone learned a lesson.
Lalit Modi published an invisible video of Bhajji – Sleesanth Slapgate. pIC.tWItteR.CoM/ /nH5VHpLYAe
– MUFADDAL VOHRA (@mufaddal_vohra) AUgUst 29,, 2025
Harbhajan Singh calls the “slapgate” incident the greatest regret of his career
Over the years, Harbhajan Singh apologized several times to S. Sreesanth for the famous SLAP incident. Recently, he admitted that it was the greatest regret in his career and said that if he could go back in time, he would completely erase this moment.
He had told R Ashwin on his YouTube channel: “One thing I would like to change in my life is this incident with Sreesanth. I want to withdraw this incident from my career. This is the incident that I would change from my list. I apologized 200 times. I apologized every opportunity or step that I receive. It was a mistake. “
