‘Harbhajan Singh made ₹1 crore from IPL slapgate’:reesanth slams Bhajji for making money off controversy, says, ‘Forgive, but never forget’

The infamous ‘slapgate’ incident from the inaugural IPL season has once again come back into the spotlight. What seemed like a closed chapter between former Indian cricketers S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh has now taken a fresh turn after new allegations by the pacer. Sreesanth slams Harbhajan of making money off the ‘Slapgate’ incident. He says, ‘Will forgive, but never forget’. The ‘Slapgate’ controversy dates back to 2008, when Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth during a match between Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Mumbai Indians. While both players had moved on and reportedly settled their differences over time, recent developments suggest that their relationship has turned sour again. Sreesanth has now openly criticised Harbhajan, claiming that the former Off-spinner has tried to profit from the old incident through a recent advertisement. This has not gone down well with the former pacer, who says he is deeply disappointed. Also read: Rohit Sharma likely to feature against SRH on 29 April:Mitchell Starc joins Delhi Capitals ahead of clash vs Punjab Kings Sreesanth accuses Harbhajan of ‘Profiting’ from incident Sreesanth alleged that Harbhajan earned a large amount of money by using the slapgate incident in an advertisement. He claimed that the incident was turned into a joke for commercial gain, which he found disrespectful. “I have never spoken about Bhajji in any interview. This is going to be the first time. Until recently, there were no problems, but he made an ad about it once again. He made around ₹80 lakh to ₹1 crore off it. He then called me and asked me to put a story on it. I told him, ‘I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget,” Sreesanth told Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam media outlet. Sreesanth made it clear that while he had forgiven Harbhajan earlier, the decision to revisit the incident publicly has hurt him. ‘Will forgive, but never forget’ – Sreesanth’s strong message for Harbhajan The former India pacer shared his thoughts on forgiveness and why he still feels uneasy about the situation. He further added, “ 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 that.” Sreesanth believes that the incident should not have been used for entertainment purposes, especially after it had caused emotional distress in the past. Also read: WATCH | Virat Kohli’s banter with Shubman Gill, Ashish Nehra:Suyash Sharma imitates GT captain’s ‘Royal bow celebration’ ‘No relationship anymore’ – Ties broken between two India legends Sreesanth also revealed that he has completely cut off ties with Harbhajan Singh. He said that their relationship has ended, and he has even blocked him on social media. He continued, “I have no relationship with that person. I used to call him a brother. But in that last 1 or 2 months, he did that ad, and now I have blocked him on Instagram.” “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. In many interviews, even with Ashwin, he talked about my daughter. People will think, ‘Oh, what a great person he is.’ He might be a great person. But for me, from my time playing for India to now, in my opinion, it’s all an act. That act is something Sreesanth doesn’t accept,” he concluded.