'Disgusting, heartless, and inhuman': Sreesanth's wife slams Lalit Modi, Michael Clarke for 'cheap publicity and views'

Sreesanth's wife threatens legal action against Lalit Modi. (Photo: X)

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke and former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi were criticized by former cricketer S Sreesanth's wife Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth for releasing a video of the infamous "Slapgate" episode between Harbhajan Singh and her husband.

Her description of Modi-Clarke's behavior as "disgusting, heartless, and inhuman" emphasized how both players have moved past the incident.

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During the most recent episode of the Australian legend's Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Modi and Clarke promoted the contentious video.

After the Mumbai Indians lost to Punjab Kings (then known as Kings XI Punjab) by 66 runs in an encounter in 2008, the incident—one of the IPL's darkest chapters—took place.

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During the post-match handshakes, Harbhajan was seen in the video smacking the pacer with the back of his hand. It was widely believed that Sreesanth may have said something disrespectful to the off-spinner, but the precise cause of the altercation was never disclosed.

Instagram story of Sreesanth's wife.  pic.twitter.com/hWKj2ai3Ob

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 30, 2025

Taking to Instagram, Bhuvneshwari wrote, "Shame on you @lalitkmodi and @michaelclarkeofficial. You people are not even human to drag up something from 2008 just for your own cheap publicity and views. Both @sreesanthnair36 and Harbhajan have long moved on, they are fathers now with school-going children, and yet you try to throw them back into an old wound. Absolutely disgusting, heartless, and inhuman."

She said in another post that the new video had caused her family much distress and that Modi and Clarke ought to be sued for "scarring their innocent children who now have to face questions and shame for no fault of theirs," in addition to harming the players.

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Modi disclosed on the podcast that Harbhajan giving Sreesanth a backhander was caught on one of his personal security cameras, not the broadcast cameras, which were turned off following the game.

"I had kept that video. The game was over, and the cameras had shut off. One of my security cameras was on because I was walking in the field. It was caught as the teams finished playing. The players were going thanking each other and shaking hands. One team was going one way, the other team was going the other way, and then it came down to Sreesanth and Bhajji. Bhajji just looks at him, said something, and gave him a backhander. I had not put it out for so long - it has been 18 years now," said Modi as quoted by Wisden.

Harbhajan received an 11-match ban and a suspension for the rest of the season.

"I sat them both down afterwards and had to penalise Bhajji in the meeting. He received an eight-match suspension, although some people were calling for a lifetime suspension. It was a new league with lots of passion, but I found it offensive. It was not just about Bhajji or Sreesanth; we needed to set an example, we needed to set boundaries," Modi said.

The famous slap in my podcast with @MClarke23 on #beyond23 - part 3 of my podcast. I love @harbhajan_singh - but after 17 years it was time to reveal it. Lots and lots more to reveal but that will now only be in the movie that’s in the works supervised by @SnehaRajani on my… pic.twitter.com/EhPaIRAZ0F

— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) August 29, 2025

On Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel, Harbhajan, who is currently involved in commentary and punditry, recently offered his thoughts on the incident, saying, "One thing I'd want to change in my life is that incident with Sreesanth. I want to remove that incident from my career. What transpired was wrong, and I should not have done what I did. I apologised 200 times. What I felt so bad about was that even years after that incident, I have been apologising every opportunity or stage I get. It was a mistake."