‘I maintained confidentiality’: Match referee from Harbhajan-Sreesanth slapgate opens up after video surfaces

Over the years, there have been many moments in cricket that have caught the attention of the fans. However, very few have come close to the moment when former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL (Indian Premier League) game. 

The incident garnered heavy media attention, and Harbhajan Singh was heavily fined for slapping the former pacer. The incident has been trending once again after Lalit Modi recently released the clip of the same in an interview with former Australia skipper Michael Clarke. 

Speaking of the incident, the match referee from the clash where the slapgate happened, Farokh Enginner, recently came forward and revealed that he did not talk about the moment after it happened. 

“I’m surprised that the footage has emerged after all these years. As match referee for that particular match, I maintained confidentiality throughout and didn’t speak about the contents of the incident even to the best of my friends in the media,” Engineer told Mid-Day. 

“I had a job to do as match referee and I believe I did it [well] with dignified silence. It’s a thing of the past and I’m sure both players have long buried their differences. Like many other things in cricket, it was done in the heat of the moment. Harbhajan is a good friend. We move on,” he added. 

Harbhajan Singh had admitted his fault in the incident

In a recent conversation with former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh had accepted his mistake in the matter and picked it as the moment in his career that he would like to change. 

“One thing I’d want to change in my life is that incident with Sreesanth. It was wrong, and I shouldn’t have done it. I have apologised hundreds of times. Even years after it, I keep saying sorry whenever I get a chance. It was a mistake,” Harbhajan Singh said on Ashwin’s YouTube channel.