The Monkeygate controversy threatened to derail the relations between not just two cricketing nations, it could have led to a diplomatic row. And at the centre of it were two characters who weren’t quite known to take a back step – Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh.
This is a story about the feud between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds that spread like wildfire and almost ended a tour.
Background to the Harbhajan-Symonds controversy
Symonds was a part of the Australian team that toured India in 2007.
At some of the venues during that seven-match ODI series, most notably in Vadodara which hosted the fifth ODI, it was alleged that Symonds had been taunted by racist chants with a Sydney Morning Herald report claiming this had happened during Australia’s chase in that game.
The local authorities and the organisers had denied any such wrongdoing.
Symonds had gone on to smash a match-winning century in the sixth ODI at Nagpur but these monkey chants are said to have continued in the seventh ODI which was played in Mumbai.
Photographs of spectators sitting in the North Stand at the Wankhede Stadium, taunting Symonds were circulated in the media and the matter had been reported to the ICC. In a report in PTI, deputy commissioner of police, Brijesh Singh was quoted as saying that four spectators were booked under the Sec 110 of Bombay Police Act for misbehaviour.
On field, India had gone on to register a consolation win over Australia in that game with the tourists winning the series 4-1.
What happened on India’s tour of Australia 2007-08?
India lose at MCG
India fell to a crushing defeat in the first Test of that series at the MCG, going down by 337 runs. Going into the second Test at the SCG, therefore, India were distant second-favourites but not too many had expected what followed during and post that game.
Umpiring issues at SCG
What’s interesting to note is that a lot of cricketing controversies aren’t quite related to what’s happened in the cricket itself but here, the tensions on the field of play because of some gross umpiring incompetence also played its own part.
For starters, Australia fell to 137 for six on day one of the Test but Symonds was then given not-out off an outside edge that left the Indian team nonplussed.
A stumping decision against the same batsman went against India when it looked like he had his foot raised at the time the stumps were dislodged.
There were other such decisions that went against India too as Australia went on pile up 463 in their first innings. And things continued even on the final day when Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly were notably given out wrongly by the umpires.
Such was the bad blood created by the poor umpiring, Indian skipper Anil Kumble would refuse to shake hands with them at the end of the Test. He would go on to accuse Australia of not playing in the spirit of the game as well.
Incidentally, Ponting admitted in a podcast with Sky Cricket that India had been at the receiving end of quite a few umpiring errors.
Amidst all of what happened, it was quickly forgotten that Symonds was adjudged the man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 162 and 61 with the bat and a three-wicket haul with the ball. Not to mention that Harbhajan had himself batted out of his skins in the first innings to hit a near-match-altering half-century.
The Monkeygate controversy
Things went awry during India’s first innings reply. They had reached 215 for three at the end of the second day’s play and while they collapsed to fall to 345 for seven on the third day, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan came together and batted out of their skins to rescue the Indian team.
It was during this partnership that the Monkeygate controversy blew up.
As this eighth wicket stand grew to over 100 and Harbhajan got to his 50, an altercation ensued between him and Symonds. At that time it wasn’t known what the issue was but umpire Mark Benson was seen talking to Harbhajan with his hand over his own lips.
What actually transpired? Different versions of Monkeygate.
There is a lot of he-says-she-says in this whole controversy but here’s what is clear.
In the 116th over of the Indian first innings, an edge off Harbhajan’s bat had gone flying over the slips for a four. Harbhajan tapped his bat gently on Brett Lee, the bowler, saying ‘hard luck’ to which Lee did not react.
Symonds, however, did not like it too much and went after Harbhajan. He revealed, “I had a bit of a crack at Harbhajan, telling him exactly what I thought of his antics.”
It’s at this point that things become unclear.
Symonds’ version states that Harbhajan called him a monkey, which is a racist term. Harbhajan denied using this word, instead claiming he muttered the Hindi words, “Teri maa ki” which means “your mother” as a form of a cuss word.
Ponting reported the matter to the umpires who, as is the law, informed the match referee Mike Proctor. Proctor kept a hearing for this which was postponed from its originally-planned day four to the end of the Test.
Proctor called upon the testimonies of Matthew Hayden, Symonds, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist from Australia and Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan from India before announcing that he believed one side was telling the truth and banned Harbhajan Singh for three Test matches.
India & BCCI’s response to the verdict
The Indian team, backed by the BCCI, responded to the ban by announcing they wouldn’t be travelling to Canberra for their tour game against the ACT International XI.
The ICC sprung to action by announcing that a commissioner would be appointed to look into India’s appeal while also getting Ranjan Madugalle to mediate between the two teams in a bid to reduce tensions.
India, who had earlier complained to the ICC about another incident in which Brad Hogg was accused of calling them “bastards”, decided to withdraw those allegations against the Aussie spinner.
Malcolm Speed, the then ICC chief, also asked the Australian cricket board to look into and speak about the Australian cricket team’s behaviour.
The hearing was to presided over by New Zealand’s high court judge John Hansen but because of the lack of time between the Test matches, it was decided that the hearing would happen at the end of the Test series.
This meant that Harbhajan Singh was free to play the remaining two Tests. India dropped Harbhajan for the third Test on a WACA pitch expected to assist fast bowling but brought him back for the fourth game in Adelaide.
The ICC also took Steve Bucknor off the umpiring panel for the rest of the series following complaints about his decision-making by the Indian team.
The Hansen hearing & its verdict
The John Hansen hearing of the Harbhajan controversy took place on January 28. Hansen ruled that there was a lack of enough evidence to prove that Harbhajan had racially abused Symonds by using the word ‘monkey’ and he was acquitted of that charge.
However, he was fined 50% of his match for using abusive language against Symonds.
Hansen also noted that he hoped not everyone shared Symonds’ view that a Test match wasn’t a place to be friendly with the opposition. He had used this to describe his reason for going after Harbhajan after the Indian spinner had tapped Brett Lee on his backside.
The commissioner also used statements from the Australian team members to note that the word ‘monkey’ was actually heard by none of them.
How did everyone react to the Monkeygate?
Symonds would go on to blame the entire Monkeygate controversy for the start of his downward spiral and his drinking problems.
He admitted to have felt guilty for getting his teammates involved in it but more vitally, in an interview with ABS News, Symonds revealed he had been called a ‘Monkey’ even before things went south in Sydney.
In an interview in 2017, former teammate and Australian captain Michael Clarke admitted Symonds had stretched the Monkeygate incident beyond proportions. He said he believed the incident should have ended earlier than it did.
Did Symonds & Harbhajan make up?
It seems so. While things hadn’t quite ended on a good note at the international level, there was a thaw in their relationship when Symonds was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for the 2011 season.
Harbhajan did admit that he was taken aback when the Mumbai side opted to bring in Symonds given the history of their relation, but things changed when the two met.
According to the Indian off-spinner, Symonds turned out to be a very different person from what he had been when the two were opponents on the field. He said, the two would dine together at times and Symonds turned out to be his 3 am friend during that edition of the IPL.
He said whatever animosity there had been between the two was a thing of the past and the two had moved on amicably.
What was interesting to note is that former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was also a part of the Mumbai Indians dressing room and he and Harbhajan Singh ended up getting just fine.
In a Fox Cricket documentary in 2018, Symonds claimed that Harbhajan had broken down while apologising to him over the Monekygate scandal but the Indian off-spinner tweeted to question this chain of events. He denied having broken down.
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
What happened later?
Symonds retired from all forms of the game in 2012 and would later commentate for the Big Bash League, Australia’s T20 competition. He tried his hand at rugby league in 2009 and was a part of the Bollywood movie, Patiala House.
In 2022, however, Symonds passed away in a car crash leading to an outpour of emotions from the cricket fraternity including Harbhajan Singh, who tweeted:
Shocked to hear about the sudden demise of Andrew Symonds. Gone too soon. Heartfelt condolences to the family and friends. Prayers for the departed soul 🙏#RIPSymonds
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 15, 2022
Photo Credit: Privatemusings