Anil Kumble reveals why India didn't pull out of tour following Monkeygate scandal in 2008
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble spilled the beans on why the Men in Blue refused to pull out of the tour to Australia following the Monkeygate scandal in 2008
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble spilled the beans on why the Men in Blue refused to pull out of the tour to Australia following the Monkeygate scandal in 2007-08, revealing that it would have been 'acceptable' if the team returned but did so otherwise. The former Indian Test skipper, in a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin, revealed that India had decided to stay back and continued the series to set an example by winning the remaining matches under trying circumstances. The famous scandal, involving spinner Harbhajan Singh, saw the spin wizard being docked 50% of the match fees followed by a three-match ban from the ICC which India appealed against.
'We got around as a unit
Speaking to Ashwin on DRS with Ash, Anil Kumble pointed out that as a skipper he was faced with making a decision off the field in the 'larger interest of the game' and it was unusual as a captain had to make on-field decisions usually. Kumble revealed that the team faced a challenge from talks of the Indian team being wrong and that they must return. Kumble said that the team got together and decided to continue the series in order to win the remainder of the two games through which a message could be sent to the fans.
"We had to obviously be together as a team but the challenge was that there was a lot of talk about the team wanting to come back at that point in time, and leave the tour and come back. Yes, you know, probably (people) would have accepted that the Indian team was wronged and that's why they came back."
"We got around as a unit and then we sort of took a decision to continue and make sure that we go on and win the next couple of matches because that would be the best message that we can give back our fans."
What was the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal?
The ‘Monkeygate’ scandal took place in 2008 when India toured Australia. The scandal refers to the verbal altercation between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh which took place during the 2nd test of the series at Sydney. It is alleged that Harbhajan Singh hurled a racist slur at his counterpart Symonds, calling the latter a ‘monkey’. While Harbhajan Singh was initially found guilty by match referee Mike Procter, ICC appeals commissioner Justice John Hansen later found Harbhajan Singh not guilty, with the three-match ban accorded to the player overturned as well. Sachin Tendulkar backed Harbhajan Singh's defence by claiming that the off-spinner used a Hindi abusive word in anger, which sounds like 'monkey', making it a classic case of misunderstanding due to differences in cultures and languages.
Published By : Koushik Narayanan
Published On: 1 August 2020 at 13:55 IST