Harbhajan Singh has been slapped with a 11-match ban for slapping Shantakumaran Sreesanth. Thus, he will virtually be out of action from the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) unless Mumbai Indians reach the semifinals.
Harbhajan has also been fined 100 per cent of his match fee. Lalit Modi, commissioner of the IPL, revealed that he will be paid only for the first two matches and will have to forfeit all his fees from the third game onwards. Indeed a costly price to pay for an instinctive act of immaturity.
Harbhajan also faces a separate action from the board. The BCCI has appointed lawyer Sudhir Nanavati to conduct a preliminary inquiry and submit a report in 15 days.
If found guilty, he could be banned for life or five Test matches or 10 one-day Internationals.
Meanwhile, Sreesanth was let off with a warning. Although it has been found that Sreesanth did not provoke Harbhajan, the warning is based on his growing habit of provoking his opponents.
Strangely, Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai Indians team, has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee for making no effort to stop Harbhajan's misconduct.
