“I don’t want to talk to you. You hit my father” - ‘Shattered’ Harbhajan Singh reveals Sreesanth’s daughter’s words

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Harbhajan Singh has opened up on one incident he would like to remove from his cricketing career. Speaking in an interview with Ravi Ashwin on YouTube, Harbhajan stated that he would like to remove the controversial slap incident against his former teammate S Sreesanth from his career.

Moving into the details of the SlapGate incident, Harbhajan, who was playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL inaugural season in 2008, slapped Kings XI Punjab seamer Sreesanth after the conclusion of the league game due to undisclosed reasons.

Though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended Turbanator for the remainder of the season, the incident remains one of the most controversial moments in the cash-rich league’s history.

In the ‘Kutti Stories with Ravi Ashwin’ episode on Ashwin’s YouTube channel, Bhajji got emotional while speaking about the incident, adding that the seamer’s daughter didn’t want to speak with him as he slapped her father.

“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,” Harbhajan said.

“What I felt so bad was even years after that incident, I have been apologising every opportunity or stage I get. It was a mistake. We all make mistakes and we hope and try to never repeat such mistakes. He was my teammate and we were playing together. Yes, in that game we were opponents. But it shouldn’t have gone to that level where we behave in such a manner. So yeah, that was my fault and the only fault of his was that he provoked me, but that’s okay actually. However, what I did was not okay. I said, ‘Sorry’,” he added.

Years later, when Bhajji got a chance to catch up with Sreesanth’s daughter, she didn’t want to speak with the spinner as he slapped her father, which shattered the former cricketer. However, Bhajji apologized to Sreesanth’s daughter as there is not much he can do now to change things.

“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,” Harbhajan concluded.

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