Harbhajan Singh broke down crying while he apologised, says Andrew Symonds

Almost a decade ago, the ugly incident in the 2008 Sydney Test was the talk of the town as Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of using derogatory terms towards Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The Aussie alleged that the Punjab-born spinner called him a “monkey” during the game, which led to a huge feud between the governing bodies of both nations.

However, the former Australian cricketer revealed how Singh broke into tears while apologising for the whole incident when the pair were awkwardly reunited at the Mumbai Indians dugout in the Indian Premier League.

“We go to a very wealthy man’s place for a barbecue, drinks and dinner one night and the whole team’s there and he had guests there, and Harbhajan said ‘mate, can I speak to you for a minute out in the garden out the front’,” Symonds told Fox Sports.

“He goes, ‘look, I’ve got to say sorry to you for what I did to you in Sydney. I apologise, I hope I didn’t cause you, your family, your friends too much harm and I really apologise for what I said, I shouldn’t have said it’. And he actually broke down crying, and I could just see that was a huge weight off his shoulders, he had to get rid of it. We shook hands and I gave him a hug and said: ‘Mate, it’s all good. It’s dealt with’,” Symonds told AFP reporters.

At first, Harbhajan denied any wrongdoing in the incident and was subsequently charged with racial abuse and a ban for three matches. However, the ban was later overturned when India threatened to quit the tour of Australia as things got heated in India-Australia cricket relations.

That left Symonds with a sense of disappointment towards the system as he looked to teammates and close friends Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke to back him in troubled times. Symonds, who was born in England with one of his parents of West Indian background, recalled how his life, both personal and professional, went downhill after the incident.

“I suppose this would be the moment where my whole persona to cricket changed. I didn’t realise how powerful one player, one incident, how much money was at stake and the ramifications,” he added.