'All the Malayalis and Sardars are waiting': Sreesanth challenges Harbhajan to boxing match
Sreesanth reignites ‘Slapgate’ feud, dares Harbhajan to settle it in the ring
Eighteen years after one of the most infamous incidents in Indian cricket, Sreesanth says he is ready to face Harbhajan Singh again. This time, not on a cricket field.
The former India fast bowler has challenged Harbhajan to a boxing match following the controversy surrounding a recent Flipkart advertisement that many fans felt referenced the 2008 IPL "Slapgate" episode.
Speaking on The Lallantop podcast, Sreesanth did not hide his frustration.
"I challenge you, Bhajji bro. Come in the boxing ring with me. I'm calling you from the heart. All the Malayalis and all the Sardars are waiting," he said.
Harbhajan has not responded publicly.
Why is Sreesanth angry?
The trigger was a Flipkart commercial in which Harbhajan plays the head of a fictional "Chaanta Class" (Slap Class)
The advertisement is built around a familiar joke in many Indian households. When an old television or appliance stops working, somebody gives it a slap and hopes for the best.
Harbhajan spends the ad teaching people how to deliver the perfect slap before the punchline reveals that buying a new device is a better solution.
Plenty of viewers laughed. Sreesanth did not.
To him, the entire concept felt like a callback to the slap that became one of the defining controversies of the IPL's early years.
'I thought we had moved on'
What appears to have hurt Sreesanth most is that he believed the matter had been settled long ago.
Over the years, the two former India teammates have shared television studios, public events and interviews. The impression from the outside was that both had put the ugly episode behind them.
Sreesanth says the advertisement changed that.
According to reports, he was also upset by claims that Harbhajan later asked him to help promote the campaign on social media. That, more than anything else, seems to have reopened old wounds.
For Sreesanth, this was not simply another comedy ad. It was a reminder of a moment that followed him for years.
headlines nearly two decades later.
A controversy Indian cricket never forgot
Ask any IPL fan about the league's most shocking moments and "Slapgate" will be near the top of the list.
The images remain unforgettable. An emotional Sreesanth in tears. Harbhajan facing disciplinary action. Headlines everywhere.
The incident happened in 2008, yet it still generates discussion whenever either player talks about it.
That is why Sreesanth's challenge has attracted so much attention. It is not just about a boxing match. It is about a chapter of Indian cricket that never really closed.
Whether Harbhajan chooses to answer the challenge or ignore it, one thing is clear: a controversy that began in the IPL so long back is still a talking point.
