Were Mumbai Indians unhappy with Andrew Symonds?

Andrew Symonds called it quits from all forms of cricket on Thursday, but there are questions lingering over his sudden decision to not play for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 5.

A Mumbai Indians source revealed to MiD DAY that the franchise was not happy with the burly Australian all-rounder. "His record speaks for himself. His performance was very poor in the last Champions League T20 and even in the IPL 4. He was bought at a fairly huge sum ($850,000 at the IPL auction last year), but hasn't given the desired results for the team," he said.

Symonds was a complete flop for Mumbai Indians last season, managing to score only 26 runs in four Champions League T20 games and bowled just two overs.  Symonds failed to score even a half century in the last IPL and struggled to keep his place in the playing XI.

Party animal

It is learnt that Symonds' party-animal nature didn't go down well with the team. So, why didn't Mumbai Indians put him up in the transfer window? "By doing so, we wouldn't have fetched a good deal. Now, we can get a good foreign replacement for Symonds," the source said.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai Indians spokesperson was quoted by ESPN Cricinfo: "Andrew Symonds was an integral part of Mumbai Indians in season four as well as our Champions League-winning team. He was a great team player and the youngsters always looked up to him for guidance."