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It was like a WWF punch: Sreesanth

The die seems loaded against firebrand spinner Harbhajan Singh following the ugly episode of a slap turned slugfest with pacer Sreesanth after the IPL tie in Mohali on Friday.

Harbhajan's fate will be decided on Monday when match referee Farrokh Engineer takes a call - Harbhajan faces a ban for a significant number of matches, and, at best, may get to play a couple of matches in the last phase of the Twenty20 league.

"Whether it's going to be a 10-match ban for Harbhajan or a ban for fewer matches is something we cannot say at this point, but whatever IPL will decide will be in the best interests of the game. Even BCCI is going to take appropriate action against the cricketer," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said on Sunday.

Sreesanth, meanwhile, is also expected to be asked to keep his emotions under check. The paceman, who took what he said was "like a WWF punch" from his team-mate, has made it to headlines for his undue aggressive behaviour.

Harbhajan, under suspension till the verdict of the hearing, was a worried man on Sunday, almost resigned to his fate. "Now, it's up to IPL."

'Harbhajan should have controlled his anger'

If Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth are around, can controversies be far behind? If they are on the same team, one can imagine the plight of the opposition. Friday night offered an ugly glimpse of what could happen when the two are in opposite camps. The skeptics have dubbed T20 cricket as a big tamasha (farce). Some have called it bikini cricket while others have refused to take it seriously. But the tamacha (slap) episode proves that despite its slam-bang format with cheerleaders in tow, it is played in all seriousness with millions of rupees and pride at stake for the teams.

What exactly led to Friday night's slapping incident? Frustrated at Mumbai Indians' third defeat in as many matches in the IPL, Harbhajan, leading the team in place of an unfit Sachin Tendulkar, allegedly slapped the Kerala paceman and also used harsh words when the latter approached him to shake hands at the end of the match. Shaken by Harbhajan's behaviour, Sreesanth was in tears in full view of the packed house and was also caught on TV for all to see.

A Mumbai player, on conditions of anonymity, narrated the chain of events which led to the ugly face-off. He said: ‘‘Everybody knows Sreesanth is no saint. His on-field antics are well known. When the Mumbai Indians were fighting a losing battle, Sree did not desist from riling the tailenders. He also taunted Harbhajan when he had come out to bat and did not last long. And when Sree approached Bhajji at the end of the game, the off-spinner could not control his frustration and swung out at Sree. It was just a spur of the moment reaction and should not be blown out of proportion.''

A Mohali player who played a lead part with the ball in the team's win, defended Sreesanth, saying that Harbhajan ought to have controlled his anger. ‘‘We all know how hot-headed Bhajji is. It's one thing to take on the likes of Andrew Symonds and Ricky Pointing but it's totally unacceptable to use one's hand on a fellow-player. Sree is an emotional and demonstrative person. It's not the blow, but Bhajji's behaviour which brought tears to Sree's eyes.''

Different teams, different views. But this incident has not gone down well with the top-brass of the BCCI and they have been prompt in issuing a show cause notice to Harbhajan even before Team Mohali decided to lodge an official complaint, which was only on Saturday afternoon. It is also learnt that Tendulkar played a key role in reconciliation between the two and helped sort out things at their own level. But Sachin's effort has not brought the curtains down on the incident.

Just a few months back the BCCI had strongly supported Harbhajan in the racial-slur case against Symonds. Whether Bhajji can manage to wriggle out of this new problem he has created for himself will be followed with great interest when the BCCI disciplinary committee meets after Harbhajan sends his reply on Monday to the show-cause notice.