Nanavati concludes Bhajji-Sree hearing, to submit report to BCCI on Monday

Ahmedabad, May 9: Tthe BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati on Friday said that the probe into "Slapgate" involving bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Shantakumaran Sreesanth is over and he would submit his final report on Monday.

"All the proceeding of the investigation is over, and now I don't need to talk to any player or official in this case. I'm satisfied with the answers of both Sreesanth and Harbhajan. I've all the evidence that I need to prepare the report," Nanavati told reporters after the hearing.

He said both the players were very supportive and co-operative during the proceeding.

"I talked to Harbhajan for one hour and 15 minutes and 30 minutes with Sreesanth. They were quite friendly during the hearing," the advocate said.

Mumbai Indians' stand-in skipper Harbhajan slapped Kings XI Punjab pacer Sreesanth after the April 25 IPL match in Mohali, which saw the off-spinner being banned from the remainder of the IPL, apart from losing nearly Rs.3 crore of match fee.

BCCI slapped him a show cause notice for his behaviour before appointing Nanavati to probe the incident.

The hearing took place at the Gujarat Law Society building where Nanavati arrived at around 2 p.m., followed by BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.

The hearing started at 2.30 p.m.after Harbhajan arrived, while Sreesanth came to the place around 3.30 p.m. By 4.15 p.m., the hearing was over as both the players came out, followed by Nanavati and Shah.

"I'll be submitting my report on Monday. I have recorded the entire proceeding on video for my record," Nanavati said.

Shah said Nanavati had also spoken to Match Referee Farokh Engineer.

"Nanavati has spoken to Farokh Engineer. The hearing is complete and Nanavati has recorded statements of both the players. It's a serious report and he would submit it to BCCI President Sharad Pawar on Monday," the BCCI official said.

It is learnt that Harbhajan pleaded guilty, like he had done in the April 28 hearing before Engineer, and said he made mistakes but if given one final chance, he would never repeat them.

However, the BCCI is unlikely to spare him and it is speculated that the temperamental off-spinner would be handed a ban of 10 one-day matches.


Copyright Asian News International