The World Cricket has changed a lot, today Australia & other SENA teams look at Indian Cricketeres with utmost respect but a few years back that was not the case as often Indian Cricketers were subjected to verbal altercations & racial comments whenever they met SENA team players in bilateral series. Such verbal altercations have often become headlines of the front pages. One such verbal altercation that has grabbed the limelight of fans & is still remembered by Cricket enthusiasts is the Monkeygate Scandal.
What do you mean by the Monkeygate Scandal?
The controversial ‘Monkeygate Scandal’ refers to the verbal altercation between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh that occurred in the second Test between India & Australia held in Sydney in 2008. During the fixture, Harbhajan was accused of passing a racist comment at Symonds by referring to him as a ‘Monkey’.
What happened that resulted in the ‘Monkeygate Scandal’?
During the second Test between India & Australia in Sydney on India’s tour of Australia in 2008, a controversial verbal spat occurred between Symonds & Harbhajan Singh. After receiving a thrashing from the Australian team in the first Test, the Indian team led by Anil Kumble was determined to produce a power-pack performance in the Sydney Test. But despite action-packed performances, the fixture was marred with controversy right from the beginning of the fixture. The on-field umpire, Steve Bucknor was giving all dubious decisions in the first innings all in favor of Australians.
Dubious decisions included an incorrect caught behind the call for Aussie Captain Ricky Ponting with Australia 45-2 & two incorrect decisions such as a caught behind and a missed stumping – for Andrew Symonds, with the score reading 191-6 & 423-7. These dubious decisions affected the scoreboard as Australia went on to score 463 runs in the first innings. This didn’t go well with the Indians who were gutted to wrap Australia’s innings under 300. But thanks to the on-field umpire’s wrong decisions that changed the momentum of the fixture in Australia’s favor.
Indian Cricket team was already in a bad mood because of the partiality happening on the field. But that didn’t affect India’s performance with the bat as Sachin Tendulkar & VVS Laxman returned with blistering tons & a fighting fifty from Ganguly meant that India was on their way to taking a first-innings lead. But then happened the unexpected that left a mark on the Map of World Cricket.
How did the Indian Team Perform with the bat amidst Chaos?
India’s scoreboard read 451-7 & Australians were desperate to wrap Men in Blue’s innings so that they couldn’t post a big total on board. Harbhajan & Sachin were batting at that moment & pacer Brett Lee was turning up the heat and was delivering many a rapid thunderbolt to Harbhajan. After tackling Lee’s over’s last ball, Harbhajan walked all the way to the other side of the wicket & had a word or two with Symonds, the conversation looked normal & obvious. But soon heat turned up & within seconds duo’s altercation took a bitter note. Adding to the complexity of the situation on-field umpire Mark Benson had some strong words for Harbhajan, who, on camera, looked bewildered by the words of the umpire.
It was found that the Aussies had complained to the umpire about Harbhajan making a racist comment towards Symonds & calling him ‘Monkey’. Even Australian Captain Ricky Ponting & Matthew Hayden had long discussions with Harbhajan Singh & the entire incident unfolded in front of Sachin Tendulkar’s eyes who was the batter at the other end.
How Harbhajan Singh & Indian Team reacted to the Incident?
Harbhajan Singh & Sachin Tendulkar were clear in their stance that no kind of racist abuse was directed at Symonds. The Australians however were furious & decided to charge the Indian off-spinner for the alleged racist comments. Things became worse when the Aussies refused to shake hands with Indian Captain Anil Kumble post the conclusion of the Test. However, Gilchrist tried to clarify that the Australian players went to the changing room of the Indian players after the match & shook hands with them. But the on-field controversy took a different route as Indian players didn’t like the allegations imposed on veteran off-spinner. Also, the wrong decisions made by the on-field umpires fumed the Indian players.
Did ICC take action on Harbhajan’s Conduct?
After the fixture, the match referee Mike Procter ruled at the end of a four-hour hearing that Harbhajan had breached Level 3 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct and slapped the Indian off-spinner with a three-test ban.
In his verdict, Protector said that he is satisfied without any doubt that Harbhajan Singh had directed racist comments at Andrew Symonds & meant to offend the Aussie player on the basis of his race or ethnic origin. However, the Indian team management who were unhappy with the decision threatened to pull out of the tour before appealing against the ban. The matter then went to an Official court at Adelaide’s Federal Court building where Ponting, Hayden & Clarke appeared as witnesses for Symonds, and Sachin appeared as the witness for Harbhajan Singh. And in the turn of events, the ICC appeals commissioner Justice John Hansen found Harbhajan ‘not guilty’ of racially abusing Symonds. As a result, his three-match ban was overturned & the off-spinner was instead slapped with a huge 50% match fee.
Does the Allegations made against Harbhajan Singh were true?
Lack of evidence led the court to dismiss the case but to date, there is no clear evidence that Harbhajan has actually ended up abusing Symonds racially. While India has continued to maintain that it was not racial abuse, the Aussies have been stubborn that Symonds was subjected to racism & went on to express disappointment over the court verdict. This was not over here as Adam Gilchrist went one step ahead by terming Sachin Tendulkar as a ‘sore loser’ in his autobiography, “True Colours: My Life”.
Scenario Post the occurrence of Monkeygate Scandal
Things between two legendary players Harbhajan Singh & Andrew Symonds changed a lot after the Monkeygate Scandal. Co-incidentally both Harbhajan & Symonds were picked by Mumbai Indians in the IPL & that was an ice-breaker as playing for the same franchise helped in solving the dispute between the duo. Both Harbhajan & Symonds put behind the ugly spat of 2008 & played together as a team. But even after that Symonds indicated that he was deeply affected by the racist abuse directed towards him & hasn’t completely forgiven Harbhajan was the same.
Unfortunately, Andrew Symonds is not with us. He was killed in a fatal road accident at Hervey Range, outside of Townsville, Queensland, on 14 May 2022, at the age of 46. We remember him for his irreplaceable contributions to the growth of Australian Cricket.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh retired from all forms of cricket in 2021 but has begun his second innings in the commentary box sharing his incredible knowledge of the game through commentating.
What do you think? Whether Harbhajan Singh had passed racist comments for Symonds or he is non-guilty? Share with us your views & let us know your take on the ‘Monkeygate Scandal’.
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