Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who represented his country in 26 Tests and 198 ODIs between 1998 and 2009, died in a car accident in Queensland on Saturday (May 14). His death is the third one of an Australian cricketer in 2022, following the passing of Shane Warne and Rodney Marsh in the first week of March.
Tributes poured in from all around the world for Symonds. Harbhajan Singh, who has had a long history with the flamboyant all-rounder, was shocked by the tragic demise and offered his condolences to the family.
“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,” the former India spinner tweeted.
Singh, 41, and Symonds were involved in one of cricket's most infamous scandals, the Monkeygate controversy, which occurred during India's 2007-08 tour of Australia.
However, the duo ultimately made peace with the incident while sharing the Mumbai Indians dressing room during the 2011 edition of the IPL, which was also Symonds' final season in the league.
SEE ALSO: Indian cricket fraternity pays deep respect to Andrew Symonds who passed away at the age of 46
During the pre-match show prior to the match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday (May 15), Harbhajan, who is a member of the IPL experts panel, while speaking to Star Sports opened up on his friendship with the Australian legend.
“Obviously we've had a lot of history. Thanks to IPL and Mumbai Indians for putting both of us together in one dressing room. And once I got to know such a lovely human being and we became very good friends.”
"We used to sit together, have a drink, laugh, share a lot of stories. He was someone who I could call at 2:30 in the morning and say ‘hey mate, what are you doing, what are you up to, let's meet' and he would be up for it,” the former Indian cricketer.
Harbhajan further said he was "shattered" upon hearing the news.
“I woke up this morning and saw my phone and I was shattered with this news that Andrew is no more. I still can't believe Andrew is no more because he's such a strong guy and whatever has happened is a very sad thing. My condolence to his family and friends and it's a loss for all of us,” he added.
Andrew Symonds was a key member of the Australian team that won two World Cups in a row in 2003 and 2007.
The batting all-rounder played 26 Tests for his country, scoring 1496 runs and taking 24 wickets, but it was in limited-overs cricket that he truly demonstrated his abilities.
The late cricketer, who batted at number 5 for the majority of his career, amassed 5088 runs at an average of 39.75 in 198 innings.
In the inaugural edition of the IPL, he was picked by Deccan Chargers and later went on to play for Mumbai Indians in 2011. The all-rounder scored 974 runs and took 20 wickets in 39 IPL matches.
(HT INPUTS)
