Sreesanth's Daughter Declines To Hello Harbhajan Singh And The Ancient Story Behind It

The Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh story was always one of Indian cricket's most widely discussed moments. Despite all these years, people still recall the slapgate controversy that happened in the early times of the Indian Premier League. Recently, the incident was brought up once again in a most unexpected manner when ex-India fast bowler Sreesanth broke the news that his own daughter once declined to acknowledge legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh. The refusal was not based on disrespect but due to the very old collision between the two cricketers that is even remembered in the cricketing fraternity. Sreesanth described this intimate moment during an interview with cricket commentator Padamjeet Sehrawat on his YouTube channel.

It was 2008 then and the IPL was in just its inaugural season and already making headlines for its high-voltage matches and cliffhanger rivalries. During a match between Kings XI Punjab now Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians something astonishing happened that left the cricket world stunned. Following the end of the game Harbhajan Singh found himself in a fiery exchange with Sreesanth. Thereafter ensued a slap that escalated into a national controversy. Photos soon appeared in newspapers and television channels featuring Sreesanth crying after the episode. The event left both their careers indelibly marked and was a momentous turning point of the league's history.

Despite both of them moving beyond it later the memory has remained alive among the fans and even reached the younger generation in Sreesanth's family now. He remembered how once he introduced Harbhajan to his daughter by telling her that this was Bhajji pa who used to play with him. She declined to give a greeting to the spinner at once. She bluntly told her that she would not say hello. Sreesanth initially did not know why she responded like this. He speculated that perhaps at school there were discussions regarding the incident and maybe different versions of the story were heard by her. In spite of him telling her that Harbhajan was as good as an elder brother, she still would not speak to him.

Sreesanth added that the very next day in a legends tournament he once again attempted to explain it to his daughter. He informed her that the event was not something Harbhajan intentionally did. He told her that it occurred in the heat of the moment and emotions were running high and that it was an experience for learning for both of them. He assured that personally he did not bear any ill will and thought the issue to be in the past.

The incident demonstrates how some actions in sport can cross borders on the field and make an impact on player families too. It also serves to illustrate that children tend to learn stories from the outside world and form their own conclusions even if the real people themselves have long put the battle behind them. Sreesanth's candor in revealing this private moment allowed people to understand in a better way how sports persons cope with past controversy and how they justify it to the younger generation.

On the other hand Harbhajan Singh has also been quite vocal regarding how much he regrets the night. In an interview with fellow cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin on his show Kutti Stories with Ash Harbhajan confessed that the Sreesanth incident is one thing he wishes he could delete from his career. He publicly stated that what occurred was not right and shouldn't have occurred. He revealed that he has apologized to Sreesanth countless times even more than 200 times whenever he got the chance. What pained him the most was that even after continuous apologies the blot of that one moment kept haunting him for years. Harbhajan averred that it is still one of the greatest blunders of his life and he wishes it could just be erased from history.

For viewers who were watching IPL for the first time the episode was unforgettable. It was a reminder that cricket is an emotional sport and sometimes players allow the pressure of competition to get the better of them. Both Sreesanth and Harbhajan contributed significantly to Indian cricket in the years that followed. Sreesanth was a big contributor to India's T20 World Cup victory in 2007 and the win of the 2011 World Cup when Harbhajan was already India's most successful spinner with countless match winning shows across formats. Even though both of them had so much success many people still link them to that one bad incident.

The way Sreesanth speaks today calmly about the issue indicates how much better the two men have become from that time.

What is most striking is how the event was brought up again by his daughter's unknowing refusal. Children tend to imitate what they see and hear and in this instance she learned a negative tale without entirely comprehending the context. Sreesanth as a father had to sit him down and clarify that Harbhajan was not an adversary but a senior and a respectable figure within Indian cricket. It illustrates how sportspersons are not just public personalities but also models in their own households and their earlier behaviour can dictate how the family perceives relationships within the cricketing fraternity.