Former Indian cricketers condole Symonds' demise

By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): Andrew Symonds' death has come as a shock to everyone and expecially to the cricketing communty all over the world. Indian cricketers too are no different and they have expressed their shock and grief on his demise.
"It is very tragic I think it is heartbreaking for Australian fans because they have lost two out of their iconic players in such a short duration. Just something freaky is happening. Andrew Symonds I have played with him I have admired him. He is a larger than life figure. I have played county cricket with him when he first started up in England when he played county cricket in Kent. He was an amazing player. He is a kind of a legend not only because of his records but the kind of impact he brought to the field because of his persona off the field on the field. I think he will be remembered for a long long time, "said former India cricketer Atul Wassan to ANI.
"On Sunday we got to know about the unfortunate news that Andrew Symonds is not with us anymore. Symonds needs no introduction. Cricket fans and people outside the cricketing world are shocked by his demise. His career achievements are amazing. He was a propr team man, a fighter. He used to fight for his team. He has turned many matches lost matches into win. He has won World Cup as well as Test matches for Australia. He has also won the Ashes. His career in cricket was amazing but at the age of 46, he has left us all and gone. I pray to almighty to give his family the strength to get over the loss, " said former India cricketer Sarandeep Singh.
"It was a shocking news for me when I got to know that Andrew Symonds is no more. He lost his life in a car accident. It is hard to believe the kind of character he was the kind of cricketer he was. I still can't believe that such a lively character lost his life early. My heartfelt condolence to his family and I would pray to the almighty for his soul to rest in peace. Hope God gives his family the strength to get over this tragedy, "said former India wicket-keeper batter Ajay Ratra.
Andrew Symonds enjoyed a great rivalry with Indian players as he had accussed Harbhajan Singh of being racist and accsussing him of calling him a 'Monkey'. Later on Andrew Symonds played in the IPL for Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and then also went on to play alongside Harbhajan Singh for Mumbai Indians.
"These are the cricket anecdotes which carry on and people talk sometimes. You fight on the field sometimes its serious sometimes its not. Sometimes its the media which picks it up like the ball tampering controversy in South Africa with Tendulkar. It always remains. It is not that players carry with them once it gets over you are friends. We saw that Symonds and Harbhajan became friends but that monkeygate controversy I still remember got very ugly and I think it was handled well by BCCI, " said Atul Wassan. (ANI)