'There was a bit of jealousy' - Andrew Symonds highlights IPL money as prime reason behind fallout with Michael Clarke

Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has opened up about his fallout with ex-teammate Michael Clarke. The duo have played a lot of cricket together and were known to share a great bond. However, their relationship hit a rock bottom towards the end of Symonds’ international career and the veteran reckons it could be due to the money he received in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

For the unversed, Symonds was the second-most expensive player in the 2008 IPL auction, fetching a whopping $1.35 million from the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. Although Symonds avoided going into detail, he admitted money played a part in ‘poisoning’ his relationship with Clarke. The 46-year-old also asserted that he and Clarke aren’t friends anymore but he still has enough respect for the latter.

Money can be a poison: Andrew Symonds

“We got closer. When he (Clarke) came into the team, I used to bat a lot with him. So when he came to the side, I really took care of him. He made a bond,” Symonds told Brett Lee in Brett Lee podcast, as quoted by Fox Sports

“Matthew Hayden told me – when the IPL started, I got a lot of money to play in the IPL – he pointed it out because there was a bit of jealousy that was probably there (with Clarke). Came into the relationship,” he added.

“Money does funny things. It’s a good thing but it can be a poison and I reckon it may have poisoned our relationship. I’ve got enough respect for him to probably not go into detail about what was said. My friendship with him is no longer and I’m comfortable with that, but I’m not gonna sit here and start slinging mud,” Symonds said further.

Meanwhile, Clarke has been pretty vocal about Symonds’s unprofessional behaviour. He had even revealed an instance when the all-rounder turned up drunk for a match. “Andrew Symonds went on TV to criticise my leadership. I’m sorry, but he is not a person to judge anyone on leadership,” Clarke wrote in his 2015 Ashes Diary.

“This is a guy who turned up drunk to play for his country. It’s pretty rich for him to be throwing rocks,” he added. Despite all this, Clarke said the fallout with Symonds “killed” him.

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