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New Delhi: Harbhajan Singh’s slapgate incident with S Sreesanth is regarded as one of the ugliest incidents in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The altercation between the two Indian internationals ended with Sreesanth in tears after Harbhajan slapped him after a match between the Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. The incident sparked massive controversy, drew reactions from fans across the globe, and has been a talking point for the last 17 years.

Despite all the reactions, there was ambiguity surrounding the incident, as there was no picture or footage available anywhere. That was until now. In a sensational revelation, IPL founder and former chairman Lalit Modi has released the raw, unseen footage of the “Slapgate” incident that took place in IPL 2008.

In an interaction with Australian World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, which is going viral on social media, Lalit Modi shared the explosive footage that was not aired in the original telecast.

“The game was over, cameras were shut off. One of my security cameras was on. It caught the incident between Sreesanth and Bhajji (Harbhajan), and Bhajji just gives him a back-hander. Here’s the video,” said Modi, before showing the footage of the actual incident.

“I hadn’t put it out for so long. We have 18 years behind us for this,” Lalit Modi added.

One of the wildest chapters in IPL history resurfaces Unseen footage of the infamous Harbhajan Singh & Sreesanth ‘Slapgate’ incident has emerged. A moment that shook the league back in 2008 and was never aired publicly until now.

#IPL #Slapgate #HarbhajanSingh #Sreesanth pic.twitter.com/nfzIRrqiuA

— PRATEEK BAJPAI (@prateekbajpai07)

Both Sreesanth and Harbhajan have buried the hatchet, and the latter even expressed his regret about the incident and stated that it is one moment from his career that he would like to remove if he had the chance.

“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 did. 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. It was a mistake,” Harbhajan said in an interaction with former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.