Thanks To IPL And Mumbai Indians – Harbhajan Singh On Putting Him Alongside Andrew Symonds In One Dressing Room

Former Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh reflected on his bond with the late Australian player Andrew Symonds during their IPL days at Mumbai Indians.

Symonds died on Saturday (May 14) night at the age of 46 in a car accident about 50 kilometers outside Townsville, a coastal city in the northeastern part of Queensland state in Australia.

Andrew Symonds- Harbhajan Singh Monkeygate saga

Symonds played 26 Tests, 198 ODIs, and 14 T20 International matches for the Australian national team in an international career that spanned over a decade (1998-2009).

Symonds’ entry into Test cricket came in 2004, almost six years after making his ODI debut for Australia.

The Birmingham-born Symonds’ red-ball career was limited to just 26 Tests for nearly five years but he made the most out of those opportunities scoring 1462 runs in 41 innings at 40.61.

Symonds’ unbeaten 162 in the Sydney Test of the 2007-08 Border Gavaskar Trophy was just one of those testaments of his sheer audacity.

The all-rounder followed with 61 in the second innings and claimed three wickets for 51 runs in the fourth as Australia sealed a 122-run win in the second Test and took a 2-0 lead.

However, Symonds’ tremendous achievements were marred with the alleged racism slurs. Symonds and Harbhajan had exchanged words during India’s batting in the second innings.

Symonds accused Harbhajan of calling him a monkey and the latter was initially slapped with a three-Test ban.

After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) threatened to boycott and leave for the remaining two Tests, Cricket Australia was forced to lift Harbhajan’s punishment. The infamous spat is popularly known as the Monkeygate saga.

Thanks to IPL and Mumbai Indians for putting both of us together: Harbhajan Singh on bonding with Andrew Symonds

Three years after the incident, Harbhajan and Symonds got the opportunity to share the dressing room at Mumbai Indians after the latter was sold to the franchise for INR 3.91 crore in the 2011 IPL auction.

Harbhajan said his relations with Symonds turned the tables after they started playing together for Mumbai Indians.

“Obviously we’ve had a lot of history. Thanks to IPL and Mumbai Indians for putting both of us together in one dressing room. And once I got to know such a lovely human being and we became very good friends,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

“We used to sit together, have a drink, laugh, share a lot of stories. He was someone who I could call at 2:30 in the morning and say ‘hey mate, what are you doing, what are you up to, lets meet’ and he would be up for it,” he added.

“I woke up this morning and saw my phone and I was shattered with this news that Andrew is no more. I still can’t believe Andrew is no more because he’s such a strong guy and whatever has happened is a very sad thing. My condolence to his family and friends and it’s a loss for all of us,” he added.

Symonds retired from all formats of cricket in 2012 and became a regular member of broadcasting for Australia’s international games and Big Bash League (BBL).

Also Read: If Andrew Symonds Shook Your Hand You Had His Word – Ricky Ponting