The enfant terrible of Indian cricket has outdone himself. In one further moment of hot-headedness, Harbhajan Singh casually tossed away the groundswell of sympathy and spontaneous outpouring of support that had come his way in the aftermath of the charge of racial abuse levelled in Australia at the start of the year.

The ill-advised and unpardonable slap on S Sreesanth's cheek in Mohali on Friday night is the latest in a long and embarrassing list of misdemeanours that have plagued the temperamental off-spinner's career. A decade in international cricket ought to have tempered the Jalandhar man's recklessness; instead, he has chosen to tread in the opposite direction, exhibiting serious behavioural anomalies that must be addressed post-haste.

Whatever be the provocation -- and in this case, it is believed to be a smiling 'Hard luck' jibe by Sreesanth soon after Kings XI Punjab consigned the Mumbai Indians to their third successive defeat -- there is no condoning Harbhajan's assault of a fellow cricketer, and a current India team-mate at that. Harbhajan's defence might be that he was smarting from another inept performance by the team he was leading in Sachin Tendulkar's continued absence, but his crime is indefensible. As simple as that.

Unlike football, rugby or even the less physical basketball, there simply is no place for physical contact in cricket. By choosing to vent his frustration on another player, the 28-year-old has revealed an ugly aggressive streak and a distinct lack of maturity that isn't in keeping with his standing as one of the more senior members of the Indian team.

It is just as well that television cameras didn't capture the slap, though the sight of a sobbing, emotionally distraught Sreesanth provided an insight into just how mentally shaken the eccentric Kerala pacer was.

Sreesanth isn't as pure as the driven snow either, happy as he is to get under the skin of the opposition with either use of the lip or a glare he believes is malicious. He has had his run-ins with the likes of Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan himself in domestic competitions in the past, but particularly in the last few months, he has shown a welcome ability to keep his aggression controlled, his temper in check and his tantrums to a bare minimum.

Harbhajan, sadly, hasn't made that transition. He has flirted with danger more than once but this time, it would appear as if he has bitten off more than he can chew. The show cause notice slapped on him is proof enough that the Board of Control for Cricket in India, clearly peeved with his behaviour in Australia, is determined to crack the whip this time around, even as the offender and the victim try desperately to convince the world that the matter ought to be put to rest as they have sorted it among themselves. Is that naive, or what?!

The Mumbai Indians will now surely rue handing over the captaincy to Harbhajan once Tendulkar was ruled out. Harbhajan has little experience of captaincy; furthermore, they had readymade options in former international skippers Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock. The burden of leading a team on a losing streak cried out for a letting off of steam, but the slap on Sreesanth could cost Harbhajan a lot more than just face and respect if the BCCI backs up tough talking with like action.