Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh spoke about his long-settled rivalry with ex-Australian star Andrew Symonds, a feud that once fired up world cricket.
The Harbhajan-Symonds feud happened during the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was the second Test of the series, and Symonds alleged that Harbhajan Sinh racially abused him, calling him a ‘monkey’.
Later, the Indian player was slapped with a three-Test ban by the match referee Mike Procter. But this ban was later downgraded on 29 January 2008 to a lesser charge of using abusive and later taken off.
Harbhajan Recalls How He Ended Feud With Symonds
In a recent interview, Harbhajan talked about how he broke the ice with Symonds after the incident.
“We sat together for a long, long time and talked about it, and at the end of the conversation, we had a long, long hug and the picture of the hug became very famous in our chat groups. A very ugly spat became a great friendship. I think things happen for a reason. That Sydney thing should never have exploded like it did. We did sort out everything. We left the controversy behind. We won the championship together.”
Symonds, 46, passed away in a car accident on 14 May 2022. Harbhajan revealed that he wished ‘it was a false news’ when he heard about the accident.
“I look back and just wish all that (Monkeygate) drama just never happened. I wish neither of us went through it. Andrew is missed every day. I was shattered by the news of his death. When I heard of his accident. I just hoped it was false news. I couldn’t believe it. When I was getting off the plane in Brisbane last week I thought that if he was still alive and living in Brisbane I would have gone to his place that night. Then we would have gone out. I just know that. That was how we were.”
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