When Michael Clarke sent Andrew Symonds back from a series for 'fishing'

Andrew Symonds, the late Australian cricketer, had his imprints on the world winning team of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. He excelled in all formats, especially the ODIs, under captains like Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. However, he was also known for not following the protocol.

Monkeygate scandal wasn’t the only one Symonds was involved in. He was known for wearing attitude on his sleeves. He was a livewire on the field, and a bundle of energy outside it. To put it mildly, sometimes his individual choices made him stand out.

It was a team meeting ahead of an ODI series against Bangladesh in 2008 that Symonds decided to skip and go for favourite hobby—fishing. This didn’t go well with the then captain Clarke who, after consultation with the cricket board, sent Symonds home to get ‘his head right’.

It created an uproar in the sports media, and brought spotlight to Symonds who was equally famous for his antics off the ground.

Years later, Symonds talked about his strained relationship with Clarke. Symonds believed that the huge IPL money he received could have been the reason behind their changed relationship. Earlier, they were said to be good friends. He was paid Rs 5.40 crore by the Deccan Chargers for the 2008 season.

READ | Australian cricket legend Andrew Symonds dies in car crash

Symonds spoke about it on Brett Lee’s podcast. He said that ‘money does funny things’, but he is not going to divulge details of the conversation between the two.

Symonds international career came to an end in 2009.