NEW DELHI: The long-running cold war between S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh has flared up again, and this time it looks like their ties have been severed for good. The two former India team-mates, who were at the centre of the notorious 2008 IPL “slapgate” episode, had appeared to leave the past behind in the years that followed. But recent events have dragged the controversy back into the spotlight, with Sreesanth asserting that he no longer has any personal connection with Harbhajan and even going as far as to block him on social media. Sreesanth says the fresh spark came after Harbhajan allegedly appeared in a promotional advertisement that drew on the old slapgate storyline, something he found extremely upsetting.
Speaking in quotations carried by Mathrubhumi, Sreesanth made it clear he had avoided discussing Harbhajan publicly until now. “I have never spoken about Bhajji in any interview. This is going to be the first time,” he said, before adding that the situation only turned problematic again recently. He claimed that after a long period without issues, Harbhajan returned to the subject through an ad and reportedly benefited financially from it. Sreesanth further said that Harbhajan contacted him and asked him to share a story connected to the promotion. “I told him, ‘I’ll forgive but I’ll never forget.’ If someone wrongs you, you should forgive them but never forget. If you forget, they will do the same thing again. He is the biggest example of that. There is no doubt about it,” Sreesanth said.
While explaining where things stand now, Sreesanth was blunt about having moved past any form of closeness. “I have no relationship with that person. I used to call him a brother. But in the last one or two months he did that ad, and now I have blocked him on Instagram,” he said, describing the fallout as something that has hardened in a very short span. Even as he maintained that he has forgiven Harbhajan for what happened earlier, he insisted that forgiveness does not mean forgetting. “My parents have taught me to forgive but never forget. I don’t have any complaints against him, nor do I need him. May God bless him and his family,” the former India pacer added.
Sreesanth also challenged the way Harbhajan presents himself publicly. He said Harbhajan may be a good person in general, but that from his playing days for India until now, Sreesanth believes the whole situation remains “all an act.” According to him, Harbhajan’s actions and the manner in which the controversy has been reintroduced are not acceptable. “He might be a great person. But for me, from my time playing for India until now, it is all an act. That act is something Sreesanth does not accept,” he concluded.
