One tight slap

Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth during a recent IPL match. That sure makes news. I cringed when I read about it. How could I ever miss it? But then, I am not interested in Bhajji or Sreesanth. I am a Kolkata Knight Riders' supporter simply because I love Shah Rukh and Sourav. So, I never thought of watching the match between the Mohali and the Mumbai team. I had made a mistake. I had missed one of the most memorable moments of Indian cricket - the 'Big Slap'. Much has been said about the slap - of how Sreesanth tried to get onto Bhajji's nerves and the latter lost his cool. At least, the slap has given the IPL cheerleaders some relief from the moral brigade.

I hate seeing people in tears but I liked the way Sreesanth cried. Crying in front of millions of viewers does take guts. It wasn't a sob. It was a weep. Only a person who is in a lot of pain can cry like that in front of a crowd. By doing so, he sent across an important message - sportsmen are 'men' and it's ok for men to cry when they are hurt. Of course, in our country, men don't cry in public. So people labelled Sreesanth as'wimp' and 'a crybaby'. He shouldn't be ridiculed. I think he is already regretting the fact that he shed tears in public. Things will become more difficult for him the next time he has to put up with the Aussie sledging machine. Poor guy!

The slap was one of the most dramatic moments of Indian cricket. I wonder if it will make history the way great cricketing partnerships do. Will we see its replay on its first anniversary? (I would like to watch that for sure.) Will it be dramatised the way it is done with echo in the movies? Will the slap be documented in the Wisdon Cricket books? Will it ever be awarded for being one of ICC's worst cricketing moments of the year? Will journalists get a pay-hike for religiously following it up? Never!