‘You hit my father…’: Harbhajan Singh shares his conversation with Sreesanth’s daughter after IPL ‘slap’ incident

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh recently made an appearance in another veteran R Ashwin’s popular YouTube channel for a podcast. Speaking about his journey from early cricket to retirement, Harbhajan spoke about different topics and even spoke about his controversial altercation with S Sreesanth- an incident that happened during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

During the IPL 2008, Harbhajan Singh- while playing for Mumbai Indians (MI), slapped S Sreesanth- who was playing for Kings XI Punjab at the end of a league match. This led to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspending the spinner for the remaining games.

Speaking to Ashwin on his YouTube series ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’, Harbhajan Singh spoke about the incident. “One thing I’d want to change in my life is that incident with Sreesanth. I want to remove that incident from my career. That is the incident I would change from my list. What transpired was wrong and I shouldn’t have done what I did. I apologised 200 times.”

He further revealed, “What hurt me even after many years was when I met his daughter and I was talking to her with a lot of love and she said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you. You hit my father.’ My heart was shattered and I was on the verge of tears. I was asking myself what is the impression I’ve left on her? She must be thinking of me in a poor light, right? She sees me as the guy who hit her father. I felt so bad. I still apologise to his daughter that I can’t do anything.”

“I keep telling her, ‘but if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better and make you think I’m not that kind of person, please tell me’. I wish when she grows up, she doesn’t see me in the same light. And think her uncle will always be with her and extend any kind of support he can. That’s why I want to remove that chapter,” he added.