A decade since the infamous ‘monkeygate’ scandal, former Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds has revealed that Harbhajan Singh broke down crying when the pair finally reconciled their differences in 2011.
The incident had occurred during the Sydney Test in India’s 2008 tour of Australia with Singh being accused of calling Symonds a ‘monkey’.
Speaking to Fox Sports on Sunday, Symonds revealed how the duo had made up during their time as team-mates with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians three years later.
“We go to a very wealthy man’s place for a barbecue, drinks and dinner one night and the whole team’s there and he had guests there, and Harbhajan said ‘mate, can I speak to you for a minute out in the garden out the front’,” Symonds recalled.
“He goes, ‘look, I’ve got to say sorry to you for what I did to you in Sydney. I apologise, I hope I didn’t cause you, your family, your friends too much harm and I really apologise for what I said, I shouldn’t have said it’.
The pair made up their differences in 2011.
“And he actually broke down crying, and I could just see that was a huge weight off his shoulders, he had to get rid of it. We shook hands and I gave him a hug and said: ‘Mate, it’s all good. It’s dealt with’,” Symonds continued.
Following the Sydney spat, Singh was charged with racial abuse and handed a suspension of three matches although he denied any wrongdoing on his behalf.
After the BCCI threatened to walk out of the tour, the ban was overturned. The incident, however, started a downward spiral for Symonds who felt let down by the system in place.
The all-rounder took to drinking heavily and alcohol-related indiscretions saw his Cricket Australia contract rescinded in 2009.
Revealing the emotional toll, Symonds said, “I suppose this would be the moment where my whole persona to cricket changed.”
“I didn’t realise how powerful one player, one incident, how much money was at stake and the ramifications.”
