The New Nation - Internet Edition

PTI, Mumbai

Indian offie Harbhajan Singh, who has developed a knack for courting controversies, was Saturday served a show cause notice by the B.C.C.I for allegedly slapping S. Sreesanth after an I.P.L. match in Mohali.

Harbhajan, who is the stand-in captain for the Mumbai Indians team in the absence of an injured Sachin Tendulkar, has been asked to respond by Monday, Board of Control for Cricket in India (B.C.C.I) Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said.

The off-spinner allegedly slapped Kings XI Punjab's Sreesanth immediately after their match last night.

The BCCI promptly served a show cause notice on Harbhajan asking him why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for his conduct in Mohali.

"At this point of time, we have issued a show cause notice. Harbhajan is a contracted player of B.C.C.I. BCCI itself has a code of conduct for players. And B.C.C.I Secretary Niranjan Shah has issued a show cause notice and he has to respond by Monday," Shetty said.

Both Harbhajan and Sreesanth tried to downplay the incident. The off-spinner said the issue has been "sorted out" and the pacer remarked that Harbhajan is like his "elder brother".

"The Board's disciplinary committee will look into the issue

and decide according to the rules of the B.C.C.I," Shah said in a statement

The board is also awaiting match referee's report of

Rajasthan Royals and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in which some words were exchanged between Shahid Afridi and Shane Warne.

"We are waiting for match referee's report and investigation is also going on but we want to pass the message that indiscipline will not be tolerated in the I.P.L. tournaments which we want to make world class," Shah added.

Although Sreesanth is now trying to brush aside the matter but the pacer's uncontrollable tears after the match had initially triggered off the furore.

Kings XI captain Yuvraj Singh also confirmed that an "ugly and unacceptable" incident did take place after the match and indicated that the team would lodge an official complaint with match referee Farokh Engineer.

"This is really an ugly incident. You do not want to see such things off the field specially after such a win. I am pretty upset at what has happened. This is totally unacceptable," he said.

Harbhajan, who is often embroiled in on-field furores with the racial row with Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds being his last brush with controversy before this, has sought to steer away from any tough-talking this time.

"A lot of things happen in a family. We are part of one family. I think a lot of things which are coming out in the media, whatever have happened we have sorted out all, everything is fine now," Harbhajan said before leaving for Mumbai with his team this morning.

Sreesanth, on his part, also said everything was "normal" between him and Harbhajan.

"Everything is normal, there is nothing between us," he said.