“I Am Ashamed Of What I Did With Sreesanth,” Harbhajan Singh on slap gate row with Sreesanth

New Delhi [India], May 2 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday said that he was ashamed of slapping Sreesanth on the pitch during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, an incident that took the entire season by storm.

The ‘Turbanator’ in a tweet recalled that specific incident after witnessing a verbal spat between the Lucknow Super Giants bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Royal Challengers Bangalore star batter Virat Kohli. LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir became the central figure as he was seen having an animated conversation with Virat after the match. While talking about that incident Harbhajan said that Virat is a legend and he should not get involved in such situations.
“I Am Ashamed Of What I Did With Sreesanth In 2008. Virat Kohli Is A Legend, Should Not Get Involved In Such Things. Whatever Happened Between Virat And Gambhir Was Not Right For Cricket,” Harbhajan wrote in his tweet.

The altercation happened at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here after RCB bowled LSG out for 108, scoring 126/9 in 20 overs, with KL Rahul batting through a leg injury in an unsuccessful attempt to take his side to victory.

Kohli had celebrated the fall of the LSG wickets during their innings in his trademark animated aggression. He was seen blowing kisses to the crowd. The Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Kohli and the Lucknow Super Giants’ Team mentor Gambhir both admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct.

Apart from this, LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq was also fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the Code of Conduct. Naveen-ul-Haq admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct.

In the previous encounter between the two sides last month, LSG team mentor Gambhir had signalled the RCB home crowd to be quiet after LSG’s narrow win. Not only did Kohli blow kisses at the Lucknow crowd when their team lost a wicket, but he also emulated Gambhir by pressing his finger to his lips emulating the keep silent sign.

After the match ended, the two shook hands and things looked fine.LSG opener Kyle Mayers walked up to Kohli and started speaking something when Gambhir came and took Mayers away. A little while after this incident, visuals from the match showed Gautam Gambhir animatedly speaking to Virat Kohli. Other players, including KL Rahul, and support staff were seen separating the two. Kohli was then seen having a lengthy chat with LSG captain KL Rahul.