Australia’s former captain Ricky Ponting considers the 2008 Monkeygate saga to be the lowest point of his captaincy career. He, during an interaction with Sky Sports podcast also said that he was not in full control of whatever happened.
Ponting recalls Monkeygate
The two-time World Cup captain of Australia, Ricky Ponting spoke about the Monkeygate scandal involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds. In an interview, Ponting said, “Monkeygate was probably the lowest (point in my career as captain). Losing the 2005 Ashes series was tough but I was in full control of that. But I wasn’t in full control of what happened during the Monkeygate thing.”
During the second Test at Sydney Harbhajan Singh was charged with racially abusing the Aussie all-rounder of Ponting’s team, Symonds. Ponti recalled the incident and explained why it was a low point. “It was a low point also because it dragged on for so long. I remember coming off the ground during the Adelaide Test match and speaking to Cricket Australia officials about the case because the hearing was at the end of the Adelaide Test match.”
Ponting on ‘most disappointing thing’
Ponting continued sharing his disappointments over whatever happened. He said, “We all felt let down by the end result (of the Monkeygate controversy). The fact that it got in the way of the way we played our cricket for the next Test match was probably the most disappointing thing.”
He further remembered how his team went on to win the next Test at Perth and then things became worse after that. “So we go over there and India at Perth is game we expect to win and then we lost the match and after that, the next few days things just got worse and worse,” he went on to add.
In fact, Andrew Symond’s career after this controversy took a downward path although Singh was eventually cleared of it.
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