From alcohol abuse to 'monkeygate': Controversies that made Symonds unpopular

Symonds -- nicknamed 'Roy' -- played 26 Tests and 198 50-over games for Australia in an international career spanning more than a decade, from 1998 until 2009

Andrew Symonds, who died on Saturday night in a car crash aged 46, was instantly recognisable on the cricket field with a mop of dreadlocks poking out from his baggy green cap and lips gleaming with white zinc cream.

A hulking presence at 6ft 2in (1.87m) with a grin as broad as his shoulders, he was a supremely talented all-rounder equally at home bowling spin or lively medium-pace.

Despite his size, Symonds was a lithe and athletic presence on the ground, with safe bucket-like hands and a laser throw that saw him rated one of the game's greatest fielders.

Also Read: Memorable Symonds moments: From explosive batting to 'monkeygate'

Here's a look at some of the moments that made the two-time World Cup winner unpopular:

Fishing during team meeting

Andrew Symonds came under fire in 2008, prior to the first ODI against Bangladesh at Darwin, when the late-Australian cricketer decided to go fishing, the day before the match, missing a crucial team meeting.

Though the Aussies went on to win the first match by a massive 180 runs, Symonds was banished from the squad in Darwin following his actions and was given a month to prove his commitment to the Australia-side, ahead of an India tour.

Alcohol problem

"It's only Bangladesh, a little bit of fuzz won't be a worry", wrote Symonds in his autobiography Roy: Going for Broke, where he recalled the controversial incident in Cardiff in 2005.

Symonds showed up drunk for the match against Bangladesh in the NatWest Series, following which he was dropped out of the squad for the match. He even had a spat with senior team staff to let him play in the match, which the Aussies lost by 5 wickets with Mohammed Ashraful bagging a ton.

Pub incident with fan

Symonds was someone who was not afraid to show his brute side, and this became all the more evident following an incident when the Aussie cricketer beat up a fan in a pub in 2008 when the latter went for a hug while taking a picture with the cricketer. No action was taken by Cricket Australia.

Fallout with Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds became great friends when they both first played for the national side. The duo almost seemed inseparable, till they endured a fallout, which according to Symonds, was due to IPL. Symonds had claimed that when he got called up to play in the IPL, he was offered a huge sum, which would have made the former Australia skipper jealous. Symonds was the costliest overseas player in the inaugural season of the IPL when the Deccan Chargers picked the Australian hard-hitter for a whopping Rs 10 crore.

'Monkeygate'

While Symonds was hugely talented, he was also controversial and will forever be associated with the infamous 'monkeygate' affair in 2008 which morphed into a massive international sporting incident.

Also Read: Harbhajan Singh mourns Andrew Symonds' death, says 'gone too soon'

He accused the India spinner Harbhajan Singh of making a racial slur during Sydney's 2008 New Year Test, in one of the darkest days between the two cricketing powerhouses.

Singh, who denied any wrongdoing, was suspended for three matches. But the ban was overturned when India threatened to quit the tour.

Symonds felt let down by the process, and guilty for dragging his teammates into the saga. He later pinpointed it as the beginning of the end of his career as he turned to alcohol.

(With agency inputs)