‘We had a long, long hug’ – Harbhajan Singh reflects on Monkeygate affair with Andrew Symonds

At the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the world was rocked by the notorious “Monkeygate” issue. Relationships between the late Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds and Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were strained as a result of the racial abuse claims and subsequent court cases. Years later, however, a bottle of Bundaberg Rum at a friend’s Chandigarh home during the Indian Premier League would transform the hostility into friendship.

The 2008 Sydney New Year’s Test was one of the most intense games ever. By referring to Symonds as a “monkey,” Australian skipper Ricky Ponting accused the former Indian spinner of racial abuse. Although Harbhajan’s punishment was ultimately lowered, the consequences resulted in a three-Test suspension. Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar, two prominent Indian players, adamantly defended Harbhajan and even threatened to skip the series if the ban was enforced.

“I took the initiative, and Anil Kumble, the captain at the time, and I unanimously agreed that if Bhajji’s ban was enforced, we would boycott the tour. I want to make it very clear that Andrew Symonds’ constant attempts to antagonise Bhajji eventually led to a confrontation between the two, which is how the incident happened. I heard Bhajji tell Symonds, “Teri maa ki” (Your mother), as I approached him to attempt to defuse the situation. In “Playing It My Way,” Tendulkar remarked, “It is a common expression in northern India to express our anger, and to me, it was all part of the game.”

There’s a reason for everything: Harbhajan Singh

In addition, Symonds and Harbhajan wore the same shirt for the Mumbai Indians in the 2011 Indian Premier League (IPL). They needed to deal with the past before they could develop synergy on the field.

The incident occurred when Symonds contacted a buddy in Chandigarh with a bottle of Bundaberg Rum at his home. We sat together and discussed it for a very long time. At the conclusion of the debate, we gave each other a long embrace, and the photo of the embrace became viral in our chat groups. According to The Daily Telegraph, the off-spinner stated, “I want to make a tribute with him and I have written a very nice piece on him for my book. I will put that photo in.”

The former argument turned into a wonderful friendship on both sides, the off-spinner added. He also concurred that the situation would not have gotten out of hand.

“I described how an extremely unpleasant argument turned into a wonderful friendship. Everything happens for a purpose, in my opinion. That incident in Sydney shouldn’t have happened. He asked how we were going to resolve this when he arrived, but we sat down and spoke about it. We did resolve all of the issues. The controversy was abandoned. Together, we won the championship. In fact, we got together every night. “That was the best time,” Singh continued.