Sreesanth claims Harbhajan singh earned ₹1 cr from ad based on ‘Slapgate’ incident in IPL

Former Indian pacer Sreesanth has reportedly claimed that former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh earned around ₹80 lakh to 1 crore from an advertisement based on the ‘Slapgate’ incident that happened in 2008. He later added that Harbhajan asked him to promote the ad on social media which he refused and blocked him on instagram.

The IPL ‘Slapgate’ controversy occurred after a match played between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings (then-Kings XI Punjab), in Mohali in 2008. Sreesanth was famously caught on camera in a flood of tears after being allegedly slapped by Harbhajan during the post-match handshakes. After the incident came out in public, Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the inaugural season of IPL and docked his entire match fee. 

This controversy emerged again when Sreesanth reportedly criticised Harbhajan for making an ad on the incident and charging ₹1 crore for it. Moreover, the off-spinner allegedly also asked Sreesanth to share the video on his social media channels.

Sreesanth reportedly said that there were no problems between them after the incident happened and Harbhajan also apologized for it, but then he made an ad about it in the last 1 or 2 months, his such behaviour made him block Harbhajan on Instagram.

He also said that when Harbhajan sent the ad to him, he called him and reportedly told him, “I'll forgive but I'll never forget.”

This controversy emerged also last year when former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi released previously unseen footage of the incident which prompted a fresh wave of public debate.

After the video went viral on the internet, Harbhajan reportedly clarified he regrets his actions and feels ashamed of the incident. However, he also said that the person who released the video has a selfish motive.