Harbhajan ‘slaps’ again, upsets Sreesanth with an ad ‘for monetary gain’

Harbhajan Singh has upset S Sreesanth by doing an advertisement allegedly inspired by the infamous IPL slapgate incident from 2008. Sreesanth shared an Instagram story that accused Harbhajan of making 'a conscious choice' 'for monetary gain'.

In the ad for a popular e-commerce marketplace, Harbhajan plays a teacher, barking instructions at a bunch of grown-ups in a classroom while teaching them to fix faulty home appliances with a firm slap.

He approaches one of the students wearing a headband similar to the one that Sreesanth used during his playing days. An irritated Harbhajan addresses the 'student' -- who was trying to fix a fridge -- as 'Shreeman', emphasising 'Shree', which was Sreesanth's nickname.

"I'll show you how it's done," says Bhajji before proceeding to slap the fridge. He is left ashamed as the attempt fails and the ad runs a punchline: 'Son, faulty appliances can't be fixed with a slap.'

Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match between the Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. Though the slap footage was only recently released, the telling imagery of the incident showed Sreesanth in tears and teammates trying to console him.

Over the years, Sreesanth and Harbhajan had reconciled, even featuring in promotional events, and projected each other as friends. However, the latest ad seems to have reopened an old wound.

The story, which Sreesanth shared:
"In almost every podcast and interview you have done, you have repeatedly said that you regret that incident, that if there is one thing you could change in your life, it would be that, and that you want to move on from it.

"And yet, you go ahead and do an advertisement built on the very same line -- fully knowing how derogatory it is, what it implies, and what it reopenes -- purely for monetary gain.

"This is not a lapse. This is a conscious choice. Your actions completely contradict everything you claim in interviews. If the regret you speak about were genuine, this ad would never have been done. Extremely disappointed."