By IANS,
Mohali : The Indian cricket board Saturday served a show cause notice on Harbhajan Singh for reportedly slapping Sreesanth after an Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians Friday night.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked Harbhajan to give an explanation about the incident by Monday evening.
“BCCI has taken serious note of the incident that happened between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth at Mohali yesterday (Friday) after the IPL match,” board secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.
“The BCCI condemns the behaviour of Harbhajan Singh as a contracted player of the board and he is called upon to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him and he has been asked for clarification by Monday evening (April 28),” the release said.
Harbhajan, on his part, denied having slapped Sreesanth.
“I did not slap Sreesanth. The media is blowing the issue out of proportion,” Harbhajan told IANS.
Harbhajan, the stand-in skipper of Mumbai Indians in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, said the issues between him and Sreesanth had been sorted out.
“Everything has been sorted out between us. He is like a younger brother to me and I have spoken to him after the match was over last night,” Harbhajan added.
Asked what exactly happened in the field, Harbhajan said, “I can only tell you that we share a great camaraderie. We have played cricket for India in the past and will continue doing so in the future as well,” he said.
Harbhajan had a long chat with Sreesanth in the dressing room of the Punjab team after the incident and apologised for his behaviour, according to Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh.