'Why is she getting angry?': Lalit Modi hits back at Sreesanth’s wife; defends release of unseen Slap-gate video

NEW DELHI: Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi has defended his decision to release an unseen video of the infamous 2008 “Slap-gate” incident, saying he only spoke the truth when asked and had no intention of reopening old wounds. His remarks came in response to criticism from Bhuvneshwari, wife of former India pacer S Sreesanth, who slammed Modi and former Australia captain Michael Clarke for reviving the episode through a podcast discussion.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The controversy reignited after Modi appeared on Clarke’s Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, where he disclosed previously unseen footage showing Harbhajan Singh striking Sreesanth with a backhanded slap during post-match handshakes between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. Harbhajan was later handed an 11-match suspension, and both cricketers have since reconciled, with the former off-spinner publicly apologising multiple times.Click to watch the unseen video here"I don’t know why she (Sreesanth’s wife Bhuvneshwari) is getting angry. I was asked a question, and I shared the truth. I can’t do anything about that. I am known to speak the truth. Sree was the victim, and that’s exactly what I said. No one had asked me this question earlier, so when Clarke quipped, I responded," Modi told IANS.In the podcast, Modi explained how his private security camera had recorded the exact moment after the broadcasters had stopped theirs. "As players were exchanging handshakes, Bhajji just looked at Sreesanth, said something, and gave him a backhander. That's what the footage shows. I've had it for 18 years," Modi said, stressing that the clip had never been made public until now.Bhuvneshwari, however, described the release as "disgusting, heartless and inhuman." In a scathing post on social media, she wrote: "Shame on you @lalitkmodi and @michaelclarkeofficial. Both @sreesanthnair36 and Harbhajan have long moved on in life and are fathers now with school-going children, and yet you try to throw them back into an old wound."She added that the revival of the controversy was deeply painful for their family: "@sreesanthnair36 has rebuilt his life with dignity and grace after every hardship he faced. Families are being forced to relive trauma that was buried decades ago. This doesn’t just hurt the players; it scars their innocent children who now have to face questions and shame for no fault of theirs."Meanwhile, cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle shed light on why the footage had remained suppressed for years. "Interesting that the Harbhajan-Sreesanth video has found its way out after 17 years. Very few of us had seen it and we had given our word that it would stay out of the public domain because the IPL was in its first year and it wouldn't have been the best bit of news for it," Bhogle posted on X.