The Monkeygate Scandal is considered one of the biggest scandals in the history of cricketing interactions between India and Australia.
The tangle started going off during the Border Gavaskar 2007-2008 Test Series during the 2nd test match in January 2008 at the SCG.
The scandal was linked with the claims of racial abuse between Indian Off spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all rounder Andrew Symonds.
During the third day of the SCG Test January 5, 2008, it is alleged that Harbhajan Singh called Andrew Symonds a monkey during a bout of verbal exchange on the field of play. Symonds was the only Australian teams player of Caribbean descent and so he regarded the term as a racist slur.
Also, when Symonds was desired of monkey chants by the spectators in India’s 2007 tour of India, this made the scenario much more delicate to the spectators.
After the match, the match referee Mike Procter held an inquiry and a hearing in which he was satisfied with the evidence lead by Australian players including Symonds Ponting and Clarke hence declaring Harbhajan guilty of an abominable racial insult.
Harbhajan was handed a three-match suspension but the Indian team protested this heatedly saying that there was no merit in the evidence of racial slur and even Harbhajan denied that any racism was uttered.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) threatened to withdraw from the series because Harbhajan’s punishment was considered biased.
The team from India didn’t agree to go to Canberra for the subsequent Test as well until that was sorted out. Not only that but the BCCI also appealed Harbhajan’s ban to the ICC.
This agreement was completed at a later stage before Judge Hansen of the High Court of New Zealand.
Due to the lack of evidence supporting a racist attitude, the allegation of racial abuse was changed to the lesser offensive language. In Supreme Court, the appeals Court lifted Ban against Harbhajan.
This resolution paved the way for the series to go on without further inconvenience, however, the ugly side of the soap opera had its toll.
It’s reported that the scandal caused a rift between the Indian and Australian teams, and it sparked a debate on the behaviour of players on the field and sledging in cricket.
This scandal hit Symonds hard because even before the incident, he felt his disappointment with the professional game, and this event only enhanced that sentiment. He would later recall how the Monkeygate incident and all that followed distinctly affected his performance.
The incident stirred a strong reaction in both nations, as the Australian media came to the defense of Symonds while the Indian fan-following stood with Harbhajan. This controversy also changed the focus on the behaviour of the players and the umpires, the enforcement of ICC’s Code of Conduct and the containment and management of race issues in cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar’s Contribution
For outsourcing Australia, the action that all would have taken concerning Sachin Tendulkar in the Monkeygate scandal, there would be no need for any body to explain about it.
During the third day of the Test series, there was an altercation with Symonds and Harbhajan was batting with Tendulkar. In the grand scheme of the proceedings, Tendulkar was deemed a participant of great significance, being at the incident.
While a crucial position was held by Tendulkar and Harbhajan in that partnership, the fiery argument broke out. Tendulkar, how Harbhajan did not say for any cost what the Australian players claimed, ‘Monkey’ in their case. To this, Tendulkar said, Harbhajan had used a Hindi word which translates into an abusive term in Hindi, but it is not racist.
Umpire Mark Benson addresses Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar with about Steve Bucknor watching Day 3 Sydney Test on 04 January. 2008. (Photo by Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images)
Tendulkars account was especially important for the second hearing presided over by judge John Hansen. This was the hearing that investigated changing the Hosseins charges from racially abusing Harbhajan Singh to use of foul language.
Tendulkar supported Harbhajan during the investigation saying that whereas Harbhajan did indeed reply to the Australian players’ sledging, the word used was not a racial slur. This was in sharp contrast with the accounts of Australian players like Symonds, Ricky Ponting, and Michael Clarke who supported the accusation of racial abuse.
Ace batsman Tendulkar, being a senior most member of the cricket fraternity on a global scale, adopted a soft stance to diffuse the strain that had developed between both the sides. His influence and his testimony played significant role in putting this controversy to rest without harming the overall relationship between cricket of the two countries in any way.
The BCCI had to go strong against racial Hart’s followers by the combined efforts of Tendulkar personally and Indian team management, which contributed to the progression of Lathe’s punishment.
Tendulkar, in his autobiography “Playing It My Way”, contemplated the Monkeygate incident and once again proclaimed that Harbhajan was wrongly accused of racist slur. He was upset with the way things were done but was happy that Harbhajan’s ban was lifted.
It was difficult however to reach such a stage because for furthering their agenda, the association needed support like Todd’s personal credibility as a cricketer, and Harbhajan himself who was supposed to clear himself out of the rash allegations of racial abuse to keep the scene calm for both teams.
