How warring rivals Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds ended bitter Monkeygate feud

It was one of the ugliest feuds in the history of cricket and while the late Andrew Symonds never forgave the game for the Monkeygate scandal, incredibly he forgave Harbhajan Singh.

From foes to friends: Andrew Symonds patched things up with Indian great Harbhajan Singh. Picture Instagram

Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed the inside story of how cricket’s Monkeygate scandal was put to bed and the sadness that will never leave him over the death of foe-turned-friend Andrew Symonds.

Harbhajan has disclosed the extraordinary turnaround in his relationship with Symonds and how the raging fires of Monkeygate were doused by – of all things – a bottle of Bundaberg Rum.

The icebreaking drop was shared by the duo after Symonds was recruited by Harbhajan’s Mumbai Indians in 2009.

The very mention of the late Symonds, killed in a single vehicle car accident outside Townsville in May, 2022, gives Harbhajan a heavy heart.

It is doubtful any relationship in modern cricket had such profound sweet and sour flavours.

“I look back and just wish all that (Monkeygate) drama just never happened,’’ Harbhajan told this masthead in Brisbane where he commentated for Star Sports on the Australia-India Test.

“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.’’

“He was such a lovely bloke. That incident became so big people need to know what happened afterwards.

“I don’t want to live with the bad memories of that incident. I don’t want to think of what I did wrong to him or what he did wrong to me. It’s gone.’’

Symonds and Harbhajan became cricket’s most bitter foes during one of the game’s most volcanic scandals when Symonds claimed Harbhajan called him a “monkey’’ several times during the Australia-India SCG Test of 2008, leading to Harbhajan initially being banned for three Tests by match referee Mike Procter.

Andrew Symonds reacts to Harbhajan Singh during the ugly Monkeygate incident.

But a muddled appeals presided over by ICC commissioner John Hansen saw the charges downgraded as political pressure came to bear as Australia were fearful of India abandoning the tour.

Symonds, who felt he had done nothing wrong, was bewildered to be criticised by Hansen for suggesting a Test match was no place to be friendly to an opposition player.

“If that is Mr Symonds’ view I hope it is not one shared by all international cricketers. It would be a sad day for cricket if it is,” Hansen said.

Feeling betrayed by officialdom at the watered down penalty, Symonds started drinking heavily and was never the same player or person as his life spiralled into dark places and his love of the game evaporated.

Symonds never forgave the game – but he did forgive Harbhajan, who always maintained his innocence.

The duo won an IPL title together with Harbhajan the Mumbai captain but before they could bond on the field they had to understand each other off it.

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh said the feud was settled over a bottle of Bundaberg Rum. Picture: Getty

Harbhajan says the moment came at a friend’s house in Chandigarh when Symonds approached him with a bottle of Bundaberg Rum.

“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,’’ Harbhajan said.

“I have written a very nice piece on him for my book which is a tribute I want to make with him and I will put that photo in. I wrote about how 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.

“When he came over he was like ‘how are we going to settle this?’ but we sat down and we spoke about it.

“We did sort out everything. We left the controversy behind. We won the championship together.

“We actually hung out together every evening. It was the best time.’’

Before his death Symonds spoke of the night in Chandigarh to Fox Cricket and claimed it was Harbhajan who started the ball rolling.

“He goes, ‘Look, I’ve got to say sorry to you for what I did to you in Sydney’,’’ Symonds said.

“‘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’.

“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.’’

This prompted Harbhajan, who has always denied calling Symonds a monkey, to respond with “WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN??? BROKE DOWN??? WHAT FOR??”.

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN ??? BROKE DOWN ???? WHAT FOR ??? Harbhajan broke down when apologising for 'monkeygate' - Symondshttps://t.co/eQFeETVChy

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) December 16, 2018

The one common thread in both stories was the Chandigarh chat finished with a hug and, despite this sharp exchange, the duo rekindled their friendship before Symonds’ death.

This fact was confirmed by Symonds’ great mate Jimmy Maher, the former Australian white ball batsman.

“I remember having a quiet beer with him and he was saying he had sorted out everything with Harbhajan,’’ Maher said.

Symonds found peace with Harbhajan but never the system that left him humiliated and angry.

“The thing with him (Symonds) was he was such a loyal bloke and once you have his trust you have it forever,’’ Maher said.

“But he felt so let down by his governing body and the people who had the power to do something.

“I am not talking about the players. Ponting and Gilchrist and the senior leaders of that team were firmly in his corner. I am not speaking out of school but I have heard Allan Border (then on the Cricket Australia board) say (the way Symonds was treated) was one of his greatest regrets.

“When the senior players that were his mates retired that was big thing for him because trust was a big thing for him.’’

Harbhajan shares a similar sentiment to the great Brian Lara who said you could never fully understand Symonds until you played with, not against him.

“That was the thing. Initially I never knew him. He never knew me. Then we played together. I really liked him. He is the sort of person who will never be forgotten.’’

Originally published as How warring rivals Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds ended bitter Monkeygate feud