As Harbhajan Singh hung up his boots after an illustrious 23-year-long cricket career, the former Indian spinner has promised to reveal the hidden side of the most talked about part of his career, the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ scandal that shook Indian cricket and fans around the world. One of the most ugliest controversies to ever take place on a cricket field, the scandal had put many reputations at stake including the BCCI and Cricket Australia.
A banter between Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan took an ugly turn when it turned into a racial controversy. On the final day of the Test match, captain of Australian cricket Ricky Ponting complained to umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson that Harbhajan had racially abused Symonds by calling him a ‘Monkey’. There was an uproar among cricket fans as several Australian players like Ponting and Gilchrist accused Indian players of lying.
Harbhajan, in an interview with PTI, revealed that it was probably the lowest point of his career. There have been many versions of the story till now, however, Harbhajan stressed that his version will also come out soon.
“It was something that was uncalled for. Whatever happened during that day in Sydney shouldn’t have happened and also what it led to. It was really unnecessary. But forget about who said what. You and I both know truth has two sides,” Harbhajan told PTI.
“No one cared about my side of the truth in the whole episode. No one cared what I went through in those few weeks and how I was mentally sinking. I have never extensively given my side of the story but people will know about it in my upcoming autobiography. What I went through shouldn’t have happened to anyone.”
Harbhajan maintained that he had no regrets in his career. He always took pride in representing India in all the formats of the game. The 2011 World Cup winner career was shorten due to injuries after the tournament. Although, no one can deny his heroics in 2001 Kolkata test against the might Aussies where he took 15 wickets in the match.
