SURAT: The controversy surrounding the spat between World Cup winners S Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir continued to hog the limelight on the eve of the 2023 Legends League Cricket (LLC) final, where Suresh Raina‘s Urbanrisers Hyderabad will take on Harbhajan Singh‘s Manipal Tigers for the trophy on Saturday.
Harbhajan, who himself was involved in the infamous ‘slapgate’ with Sreesanth during their stint in the Indian Premier League, was seemingly ready for the most expected question.
“Bade bade shehro mein chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain (in big cities, small things keep happening),” Harbhajan replied using the famous dialogue from a Bollywood movie starring Shah Rukh Khan, much to the amusement of the attending media.
When reminded about the controversial IPL incident involving him and former India pacer Sreesanth, the Tigers captain Bhajji said, “That is an incident of the past. Let’s not bring that up. What happened then was not right, and I don’t have any hesitation in saying that the fault was mine. I don’t know what happened this time (between Sreesanth and Gambhir). LLC has offered good cricket this year, and it would be better to stick to that only.”
The heated exchange between Sreesanth and Gambhir happened during the eliminator clash between the India Capitals and Gujarat Giants on December 6, where Gambhir allegedly called his former teammate a ‘fixer.’
Opening up on the on-field altercation on Instagram, Sreesanth went on to make serious accusations, claiming that Gambhir had insulted him with harsh words, branding him a ‘fixer’ and verbally abusing him during the match.
Sreesanth also labeled Gambhir as ‘arrogant’ and ‘utterly classless.’ The dispute escalated further as Sreesanth’s wife, Vidhita, joined in to condemn Gambhir on Instagram.
In the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, Sreesanth was initially banned for life, which was reduced to seven years in 2019. He returned to play in the domestic corcuit in 2020 after getting selected for his home state team Kerala.
Reacting to the incident, LLC issued an official statement on December 7, launching an investigation into the matter. Raman Raheja, co-owner and CEO of Legends League Cricket, stated, “We are underway in the process as per the contractual obligations of players and as per the Code of Conduct policy of the league.”
In the latest development, the LLC commissioner issued a legal notice to Sreesanth for breach of contractual obligations and demanding the removal of videos targeting Gambhir before further discussions on potential resolution of the issue.
Watch Sreesanth calls Gautam Gambhir Mr. Fighter, says he does not respect senior players
Harbhajan, who himself was involved in the infamous ‘slapgate’ with Sreesanth during their stint in the Indian Premier League, was seemingly ready for the most expected question.
“Bade bade shehro mein chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain (in big cities, small things keep happening),” Harbhajan replied using the famous dialogue from a Bollywood movie starring Shah Rukh Khan, much to the amusement of the attending media.
When reminded about the controversial IPL incident involving him and former India pacer Sreesanth, the Tigers captain Bhajji said, “That is an incident of the past. Let’s not bring that up. What happened then was not right, and I don’t have any hesitation in saying that the fault was mine. I don’t know what happened this time (between Sreesanth and Gambhir). LLC has offered good cricket this year, and it would be better to stick to that only.”
The heated exchange between Sreesanth and Gambhir happened during the eliminator clash between the India Capitals and Gujarat Giants on December 6, where Gambhir allegedly called his former teammate a ‘fixer.’
Opening up on the on-field altercation on Instagram, Sreesanth went on to make serious accusations, claiming that Gambhir had insulted him with harsh words, branding him a ‘fixer’ and verbally abusing him during the match.
Sreesanth also labeled Gambhir as ‘arrogant’ and ‘utterly classless.’ The dispute escalated further as Sreesanth’s wife, Vidhita, joined in to condemn Gambhir on Instagram.
In the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, Sreesanth was initially banned for life, which was reduced to seven years in 2019. He returned to play in the domestic corcuit in 2020 after getting selected for his home state team Kerala.
Reacting to the incident, LLC issued an official statement on December 7, launching an investigation into the matter. Raman Raheja, co-owner and CEO of Legends League Cricket, stated, “We are underway in the process as per the contractual obligations of players and as per the Code of Conduct policy of the league.”
In the latest development, the LLC commissioner issued a legal notice to Sreesanth for breach of contractual obligations and demanding the removal of videos targeting Gambhir before further discussions on potential resolution of the issue.
Watch Sreesanth calls Gautam Gambhir Mr. Fighter, says he does not respect senior players