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Harbhajan, Symonds in friendship with help

from Sachin: report

PTI Sun, May 8, 2011

Melbourne, May 8 (PTI) Bitter foes in the Sydney Test racial row, Harbhajan Singh and Andrew

Symonds have buried the hatchet and are friends now with Sachin Tendulkar helping his IPLside Mumbai Indians team-mates in doing that, according to a report here.

Three years of seething animosity triggered by the "Monkeygate" scandal of the 2008 Sydney

Test has ended thanks to the Indian Premier League, with both the feisty players forming a bond

at Mumbai Indians playing environment, ''The Australian'' reported.

The newspaper said Tendulkar played a part in ending one of the most talked-about feuds in

world cricket.

"India''s Test legend Sachin Tendulkar has been front and centre in healing their wounds as

Symonds relishes his role of small fish in the big Mumbai pond next to World Cup heroesTendulkar and Harbhajan," the report said.

Symonds, who was stinging in his criticism of Harbhajan as recently as last October, refused to

speak much about the new bonding but his manager confirmed the truce.

"I''m not really doing any interviews, sorry - but it''s all good here," Symonds was quoted as

saying by the newspaper when asked about his relationship with Harbhajan.

35-year-old Symonds has been living away from the spotlight for some time in far north

Queensland after retiring from international cricket in 2009.

His manager Matt Fearon said Symonds has left the "Monkeygate" wounds behind.

"That''s definitely the case. They''ve left everything in the past. The auction for the IPL was in

January. I remember calling him and saying, well, you''re going to Mumbai - with Harbhajan. Hesaid two words: ''Aw, true?''

"That said it all. He was a bit speechless. It would be fair to say there was a bit of uncertainty

about how it would play out. There was an unknown there but yes, they are getting on great.They are both competitive animals. When two people like that are on different teams, there canbe some very real tension. But put them in the same team and it''s a different story," Fearon said.

"We all know how much tension there was before, but that''s one of the beauties of the IPL."

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Symonds and Harbhajan became sworn enemies when the fourth Test of the 2007-2008 series

exploded after Harbhajan was charged for calling Symonds a monkey. The Indian team denied

the charge, saying that Harbhajan had only uttered a native word that sounds like monkey.

India threatened to quit the tour when Harbhajan was suspended for three matches. On appeal, an

ICC-appointed judge overturned the ban. Symonds was furious and accused Cricket Australia offailing to back its own players. .