Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27: Still in a state of shock after being punched by one of his Indian team mates, Kerala pacer S Sreesanth said he has no bitter feeling towards Harbhajan Singh and he has forgiven the volatile off-spinner.

The spunky Kerala speedster said he had actually gone to shake hands with Harbhajan after Friday's Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians when the temperamental off-spinner hit him.

"Bhajji is like an elder brother and I have forgiven him," Sreesanth said in an interview to Asianet channel.

"I went to shake hands with him after the play was over but I did not expect such kind of response. It was not just a slap but something like a punch," he said.

And still, Sreesanth claimed, he does not hold any ill feeling towards Harbhajan.

"I have to forget it. Whatever happened is over. I'm not the kind of a guy who would nurse grudges. Of course I was hurt...It was totally unexpected and I have nothing more to say," Sreesanth said.

He said Harbhajan was not in the best of his moods after the Mumbai side he was leading crashed to their third successive defeat in the IPL. But still his behavious stunned him.

"Mumbai had lost three matches in a row and Bhajji was very angry. Still it was unbelievable." Sreesanth will appear in tomorrow's disciplinary hearing in Delhi where Match Referee Farokh Engineer would hear both the sides before announcing his verdict.

Sreesanth said he was trying to concentrate on his game.

"I have to continue playing and concentrate on my game," he said.

Camera did catch Bhajji slapping Sreesanth: Modi

Agencies

New Delhi, Apr 27: Video footage in Monday's crucial disciplinary hearing is certain to go against Harbhajan Singh, who allegedly punched S Sreesanth, with IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Sunday disclosing that the camera did "pick up something".

"Yes, cameras were rolling. We have this thing of camera rolling out for 10 minutes even after the match. Yes, it did pick up something," Modi said.

Harbhajan continues to be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons and last time he featured in the Sydney racism row that involved Andrew Symonds, the BCCI had to employ all its energy to save him.

Modi, however, did not find the slapping row involving the volatile spinner an embarrassment for the Board.

Not ready to equate both incidents, Modi said, "I think you can't muddle both things. There it was one player against another. Here Harbhajan is not saying he has not done anything. He's saying he has been provoked.

"See, even (Manchester duo Wayne) Rooney and (Cristian) Ronaldo had difference when they played for their respective countries," he argued.

Modi even went on to derive something positive out of the slapping row.

"It's important to understand that here (at IPL), players play for the team not just for the sake of it. It just goes to show that they take it to heart and want to win.

"However, they have pledged the MCC Spirit of Cricket and you can't assault another player. You just can't cross the line," he added.