'We had a long, long hug' - Harbhajan Singh reflects on Monkeygate scandal with Andrew Symonds

The world was shocked in 2008 by the infamous "Monkeygate" controversy during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The racial slur accusations and courtroom battles that followed strained relations between Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and late Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. But years later, a bottle of Bundaberg Rum in a friend's home in Chandigarh during the IPL would turn the animosity into a friendship.

The New Year’s Test in Sydney, in 2008, was one of the most heated matches in history. Australian captain Ricky Ponting accused the former Indian spinner of racially abusing Symonds by calling him a “monkey.” The fallout saw Harbhajan suspended for three Tests, though his punishment was later reduced. Indian players, led by Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar, confidently defended Harbhajan, even threatening to boycott the series if the ban was upheld.

“Anil Kumble (the then captain) and I took the lead and it was unanimously decided that we would boycott the tour if Bhajji’s ban was upheld. I want to state very clearly that the incident arose because Andrew Symonds had been continually trying to provoke Bhajji and it was inevitable that the two would have an altercation at some point. While walking up to Bhajji to try to calm things down, I heard him say ‘Teri maa ki’ (Your mother…) to Symonds. It is an expression we often use in north India to vent our anger and to me it was all part of the game,” Tendulkar wrote in ‘Playing It My Way’.

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Things happen for a reason: Harbhajan Singh

Furthermore, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), both Harbhajan and Symonds donned the same jersey for the Mumbai Indians in 2011. Before they could form on-field chemistry, they had to address the past situation.

"The moment came at a friend’s house in Chandigarh where 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. 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," the off-spinner said as quoted The Daily Telegraph.

The off-spinner further mentioned that the past spat went on to become a great friendship from both ends. He also agreed the incident wouldn't have spiraled the way it did. 

"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,’’ Singh added.