India, June 19 -- For almost two decades, the story of Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth had seemed to follow a familiar arc: an ugly public rupture, years of regret, professional coexistence, emotional reconciliation and, eventually, a kind of uneasy public peace.

Now, that peace has cracked again.

Sreesanth's latest challenge to Harbhajan - asking whether the former India off-spinner has the "guts" to enter a ring with him - is not merely another sensational extension of IPL 2008's infamous slapgate controversy. It is the latest turn in a relationship that has repeatedly changed shape: from India teammates to public adversaries, from World Cup winners to reconciled colleagues, from men trying to bury a humiliating chapter to two former ...