Have we seen the last of Symonds?

There have been many characters across many sports who have managed to outperform themselves more off the field than on it. Temperamental Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds is definitely one such cricketer. Arguably one of the most ferocious hitters of the cricket ball, Symonds has found life in the fast lane too difficult to handle. He has been the favourite child of controversy and the latest episode of being sent back from the Australian World Cup Team does not portend a bright future for this burly Aussie great.

Symonds has consistently been involved in controversies throughout the later part of his career. Since mid-2008, he spent most of the time out of the team, mainly due to disciplinary reasons and alcohol related incidents. During India’s tour of Australia in 2008, he got into an imbroglio with Harbhajan Singh in the infamous “monkeygate” scandal. He was to play the opening game of the Australian Domestic season in Darwin in 2008, but instead headed back to Queensland after missing the team meeting to go fishing. In January 2009, Symonds called Brendon McCullum a “lump of shit”, and said that having dinner at the home of teammate Matthew Hayden was enjoyable because he could glance at Hayden’s wife. He was charged by Cricket Australia for violation of conduct and barred from selection for a period until he was deemed to have been successfully rehabilitated.

Andrew Symonds has been a menace for the Australian team for the last couple of years. While there is no denying his enormous talent, there is no excuse for his absurd conduct off the field. Most of his fans might have thought that after this year’s IPL, Symonds has recovered from his past and is ready for a fresh innings. But just two weeks later, he gets involved in another alcohol related incident and gets fired from the team.

It has been an absolutely right decision from the Australian Authorities because one rotten mango can spoil the whole bunch. Cricket is a team game and a healthy team spirit is the precursor to success. The Aussie Captain Ricky Ponting has rightly said that since there were a lot of youngsters in the team, tolerating Symonds acts of indiscipline would have set a bad precedent for them. Hence it was a decision which was taken in the best interests of Australian cricket.

However great a player may be, at any point in his career he should not feel that he is above the game. Symonds with his reckless acts of monstrosity has disintegrated his team before a big tournament as they have to find a replacement for a player whose talents are unmatched. Even in the final of the IPL, Symonds was continuously trying to disintegrate the young Indian Manish Pandey with his vocal outbursts which practically went unnoticed because the Deccan Chargers triumphed in the end. Hence this decision of the Aussie Management to send Symonds back is a warning to all cricketers that indiscipline has no place in the gentleman’s game. A win or loss in a game is inconsequential when compared to an undisciplined and reckless team.

This latest episode has made all cricket analysts and experts ask only one question: “Is this the end of one of modern cricket’s most colourful characters?” As of now the answer seems to be yes, because the Australian Authorities have been straightforward in their judgement. Many feel we have seen the last of Symonds. Unless this great cricketer finds a permanent panacea to his off field problems, the harsh but blatant truth is that we are not going to see Roy donning an Aussie cap again. That would be a tragic end to a very promising career.