25 April,2009 07:56 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
One year ago, the Indian Premier League made its entry into cricket's hall of shame when Mumbai Indians' stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh slapped Kings XI Punjab paceman S Sreesanth after a match inu00a0 Mohali which ended in the hosts' favour.
Without doubt, Sreesanth and Harbhajan were central characters in the drama, but match referee Farokh Engineer played a significant role too. Harbhajan was banned for 11 IPL games.
Engineer is one of the very few to have viewed the slap footage, but he wouldn't give details. "It won't be right," he stressed. Engineer can be credited for the fact that he said right from the beginning that the issue wouldn't be swept under the carpet. "Yes, I said that because many people expected it to be dealt with like that. The Harbhajan-Symonds controversy was still fresh, remember," he said.
Harbhajan came in for some high praise from Engineer. "Look, he did something in the heat of the moment. He got his punishment and has moved on to continue being a successful off-spinner.
"I have got a lot of time for him. He bowled very well in NZ and I remember telling him not to allow this incident (slapgate) to bring him down. I am so glad he has put it behind and is bowling well. I rate him very high," said Engineer who played in the golden era of Indian spin. "Sreesanth is a nice man too and I hope he gets fit enough and bowls again. He is a very good bowler too."
