"Insaan hu Bhagwaan nahi" - Harbhajan Singh reacts after being asked about slap-gate controversy involving Sreesanth

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh recently apologized for slapping ex-teammate Sreesanth during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The incident took place in Mohali following the match between Kings XI Punjab (re-christened as Punjab Kings) and the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Harbhajan's comments came after a fan shared a video of Sreesanth in tears after the slap-gate incident. The cricketer-turned-commentator recently accepted his mistake and emphasized that he too is just a human and not God.

The 44-year-old wrote on X:

"This wasn’t right bhai It was my mistake . Shouldn’t hv done this . But Galti hui Insaan hu Bhagwaan nahi."

The aftermath of the incident saw Harbhajan Singh being banned for the remainder of the season. Even after all these years, it remains one of the most controversial IPL moments.

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"I didn't cry because of pain but because of heart" - When Sreesanth opened up on being slapped by Harbhajan Singh

Speaking about the slap-gate incident, Sreesanth stated that he didn't cry because of pain but it was because of his bond with Harbhajan Singh. He disclosed that he was shocked and surprised by the former spinner's actions.

He also revealed that Harbhajan had asked him to curb his aggression during the match. Speaking on 'The Ranveer Show', Sreesanth said (via NDTV):

"So I will say Bhajji pa. Even now I address him as 'Bhajji pa' and he is somebody who is always... Whenever I had any important spell or something I was not doing well I used to go and hug Bhajji pa. And somehow it is the vibration or maybe the positivity which paaji has got, I always used to get the performance out."

"So when that incident happened, I was shocked. I didn't cry because of pain but because of heart. I could not take the fact that he would do it and I was not worried about who was watching. So maybe the kid in me as a younger brother, if an elder brother was shouting, and he had all the right because before the game he had actually told me that don't go overboard with your aggression against us," he added.

It is worth mentioning that Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth were part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad. The two seemed to have moved on from the incident, letting bygones be bygones.