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Ex-Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has opened up on slapping Sreesanth after the match in IPL 2008. The 103-Test veteran stated that he wishes to erase that incident from his life and that even Sreesanth's daughter wasn't ready to talk to him due to the infamous scandal, thereby shattering his heart.

Ex-Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has opened up on slapping Sreesanth after the match in IPL 2008. The 103-Test veteran stated that he wishes to erase that incident from his life and that even Sreesanth's daughter wasn't ready to talk to him due to the infamous scandal, thereby shattering his heart.

According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, a smiling Sreesanth walked up to Harbhajan and said 'Hard luck' after the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings match. It was at that moment that the 45-year-old lost his cool and Sreesanth got slapped, leading him to being in tears.

Speaking to Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said he regrets what he did and that the veteran has been apologising for it every opportunity he gets.

"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 d id. I apologised 200 times. What I felt so bad was even years after that incident, I have been apologising every opportunity or stage I get. 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?"

Harbhajan Singh was banned for the rest of the season

The incident from Harbhajan ensured that the finger spinner was banned from the 2008 edition from the remaining matches. He was also fined by then match referee Farokh Engineer 100% of his match fees.

In a statement issued by Lalit Modi then, he said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"The referee studied video tapes of the incident and found the assault by Harbhajan was totally unprovoked. The footage exactly showed that Harbhajan went down the line, wishing all the players, shaking hands with a few players. Sreesanth was the third player that he met. Instead of shaking his hand he actually slapped him and continued down the line, shaking hands with the other players."