The Indian board suspended spinner Harbhajan Singh on Saturday pending a disciplinary hearing into a slapping incident involving compatriot Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game. The Hindustan Times daily reported Harbhajan had slapped the young fast bowler after Friday night's match. Television pictures showed Sreesanth sobbing after his Mohali team defeated Mumbai, which was captained by Harbhajan in the absence of the injured Sachin Tendulkar. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said the spinner was asked to explain his actions before a later statement announced the suspension. “Based on ... video evidence as seen and reviewed by match adjudicator and referee Farokh Engineer, a decision has been reached to suspend with immediate effect Harbhajan Singh of the MumbaiIndians pending an inquiry into the incident on Monday,” said IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. The hearing will be held in New Delhi and a final verdict announced by Engineer. “The BCCI condemns the behavior of Harbhajan Singh as a contracted player of the board and he is called upon to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him and has been asked for clarification by Monday evening,” Shah said. The 27-year-old spinner has had a poor disciplinary record since making his India debut in 1998. On tour to Australia this year, Harbhajan was initially banned for three Tests after being found guilty of making racist remarks against all-rounder Andrew Symonds. He was subsequently let off with a fine on a lesser charge following an appeal. “It was unacceptable what happened,” Mohali captain Yuvraj Singh told reporters. “Harbhajan came back to the dressing room and apologized to Sreesanth.” Harbhajan said the media were trying to sensationalize the incident. “It is not such a big issue the way people are making it out to be,” he said in a television interview. “It is between me and ‘Sree'.”
