IPL auction: Mumbai Indians buy Andrew Symonds; close monkeygate

Is Mumbai on the other side of Sydney? It could be an absurd allusion but the city franchise is bringing together players who fell out after a major fracas at the Sydney Cricket Ground three years ago.

Yes, Harbhajan Singh, Andrew Symonds and Sachin Tendulkar, the protagonists of the Monkeygate will be sharing a dressing room as Mumbai Indians have purchased the controversial Australian all-rounder.

Symonds and Harbhajan were involved in a bitter battle during the 2008 Test in Sydney and the Australian had alleged that the Indian off-spinner had called him a monkey. The charge led to a three-Test ban on Harbhajan which was subsequently lifted by an ICC appeals commissioner.

“He has moved on from that period. They have put the issue behind them. I just spoke to Andrew and he has said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin and Harbhajan,” Matt Fearon, the player’s agent told this paper.

“Look, a lot has been written and said about that issue. But those things had happened some time back. Things that happen on the field are not taken seriously,” Fearon said.

The ban was overturned after Tendulkar testified in favour of Harbhajan. “He is looking to share the dressing room with Sachin.

He has nothing in his mind,” Fearon said.

The player agent said Mumbai Indians is the side that every player looks forward to playing. “He had a very good time with Deccan Chargers and now he is moving to Mumbai which is a great franchise. So he is not going to go back into the past,” he said.

Symonds was bought for $1.4 million in the first auction and this time he has gone for a much lesser price of $850,000. But Fearon says his client is not looking at money factor. “He works hard for any tournament. Currently he is on a holiday and will soon start practicing. He is looking forward to hearing from the Mumbai Indians management,” he said.

When contacted, the Mumbai Indians team management refused to say anything on the matter. “It is not only about two players. It is about the team,” a spokesman said without elaborating. They, however, promised to come out with their statement on Sunday.