Irfan Pathan hails Anil Kumble for handling situation well during 'Monkeygate' scandal

Irfan Pathan has come forward and hailed Anil Kumble for the way he had handled the infamous 'Monkeygate' scandal during the Sydney Test match when India had toured Down Under in the 2007/08 season. Kumble was the Test captain back then. It so happened that star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and all-rounder Andrew Symonds were involved in a heated exchange during that contest and when Bhajji had used a cuss word in Hindi, the Australians misunderstood him and thought that he had racially abused Symonds by calling him a 'Monkey'.

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'He handled the situation really well': Irfan Pathan

During an interview with a news channel, Pathan went on to say that the Indian media behaves very well with their guests whereas, the Australian media is ruthless as they just talk about negatives things on the touring team, and they make it feel like we are playing in fire. He then mentioned that the Aussie media made the most of it when they got to cover the 'Monkeygate' scandal.

Recalling those days when the infamous incident had shook the cricket world, the veteran all-rounder added that at least one cameraman will always be designated behind Harbhajan but it was the then Test captain Anil Kumble who handled the situation very well as it was one of the hardest times for them. Furthermore, the Baroda all-rounder also added that even the team manager did not let them step outside their hotel just to stay away from the media.

Apart from the 'Monkeygate' scandal, the Test match was also known for some horrendous umpiring where all the decisions had gone against India and in favour of the hosts.

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