Harbhajan banned for 11 IPL matches

The IPL governing council banned Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for 11 IPL matches after the conclusion of the hearing in Delhi. Harbhajan, who was leading Mumbai Indians, was charged with slapping his Indian teammate S Sreesanth, who was playing for Kings Punjab XI, at the end of the match between the two teams on April 25 at Mohali.
IPL chairman Lalit Modi said that Harbhajan was fined 100 per cent of the match fee. Mumbai Indians manager Lalchand Rajput, who was present in the hearing, was charged under level 2 of ICC Code of Conduct and fined 50 per cent of his match fee for not restraining Harbhajan. He said Harbhajan acted without any provocation, but Sreesanth too was warned for his behavior by the council. Harbhajan can appeal against the ban if he thinks so, Modi added.
During the course of the hearing, Harbhajan pleaded guilty and expressed regrets for hurting Sreesanth's sentiments. He also carried a letter in reply to the show-cause notice issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In the letter, he said he slapped S Sreesanth post the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on April 25.

Meanwhile, BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said, "Harbhajan has accepted guilt and is apologetic. No player will get away if he behaves like this. Harbhajan assaulted a fellow player, which was just shocking. The BCCI can also take action against him."

The board has already appointed advocate Sudhir Nanavati as commissioner to make preliminary inquiry into the incident. Nanavati will inquire into the case of Harbhajan flouting BCCI guidelines and will submit his report to BCCI president Sharad Pawar within 15 days. The disciplinary committee of the BCCI will study the report before giving its final verdict.