New Delhi: Temperamental off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned from playing in the Indian Premier League for 11 matches for slapping his Indian teammate S Sreesanth after he pleaded guilty and apologised for it.
Harbhajan Singh was also slapped with a fine of 100 per cent match fees from the third match onwards while his Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput was fined 50 per cent of the match fee for not stopping the off-spinner's attack on Sreesanth playing for Kings XI Punjab.
Sreesanth, who was at the receiving end Harbhajan Singh's behaviour at the end of an IPL match in Mohali on Friday night, was also warned that his aggression on the field in future would be taken seriously.
At a press conference at the conclusion of a two-hour hearing, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said, "After looking into the video footage in the presence of Sreesanth, complainant Neil Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab CEO), Harbhajan and Lalchand Rajput, (Mumbai Indians coach), and managers of both sides and considering the submissions from both sides and in view of Harbhajan's admission Match Referee Farokh Engineer found him guilty of level 4.2 offence."
April 27, 2008
