“Andrew Symonds was one of the most misunderstood characters” - Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, in an emotional tribute to Andrew Symonds, described the late all-rounder as one of the most misunderstood characters of the game. He further termed the Australian as an 'amazing friend'.

Symonds passed away on May 14 in a car crash about 50 kms from Townsville in Queensland. He was only 46. The death of the two-time World Cup-winning cricketer was the third tragedy in Australian cricket in a short span of time. Spin legend Shane Warne and former wicketkeeper-batter Rod Marsh had died in the first week of March this year.

Recalling memories of Symonds, Akhtar told Sportskeeda in a video clip:

“Andrew Symonds was one of the most misunderstood characters. He was one of the most amazing and trustworthy friends that you can ever ask for. Unfortunately, his career came to a screeching halt due to controversies. I dearly miss him. He was a great guy, we had a lot of good times.”

The 46-year-old also spoke about the 2015 All-Stars series in the USA, which he featured in along with Symonds, Warne and many other legends of the game. He remembered:

“Me, Shane Warne, Andrew Symonds, Sachin Tendulkar and Shaun Pollock, we were all there in America in 2015 (for the All-Stars series). We had so much fun with each other. I even shared a video on social media of the same.”

The All-Stars series was an exhibition Twenty20 cricket series that featured two teams with famous retired cricketers. One side was led by Tendulkar and the other by Warne.

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“He killed our momentum in the 2003 World Cup” - Shoaib Akhtar on Andrew Symonds’ legendary knock

Symonds’ most famous international innings came against Pakistan during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Batting first in Johannesburg, Australia had lost half their side for 146.

The all-rounder, however, hammered an unbeaten 143 off 125 balls to lift his team to 310 for 8. Australia went on to thump Pakistan by 82 runs. Recalling his memories of the brutal knock, Akhtar said:

“I remember him thrashing us in the 2003 World Cup. He came into bat late in the order and was smashing me all over. We had no answers to his batting. He won the match single-handedly and literally killed our momentum in the 2003 World Cup.”

Symonds was named the Player of the Match for his spectacular knock, which featured 18 fours and two sixes.