By IANS,
Sydney : Troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds is said to be dealing with symptoms similar to those of compatriot Shaun Tait, who walked away from the game early this year due to mental and physical stress. Symonds has been told to seek psychological help.
The all-rounder has not contacted any player in Darwin since flying back to Brisbane after being banned from the series against Bangladesh for breaching team discipline. A friend said Symonds was “angry, hurt and embarrassed.”
Symonds has been asked to complete a rehabilitation programme overseen by Cricket Australia medical staff, the Herald Sun reported Tuesday.
Symonds will be given as much time as he needs to re-establish his career, and it is expected he will get professional help as part of his recuperation, sources said.
His relationship with senior Australian players has also fractured after he reacted furiously to being sent home and exchanged heated words with stand-in captain Michael Clarke.
All-rounder Cameron White said the team was uncertain about Symonds’s state of mind.
“I don’t think the team really knows. Obviously no one’s really spoken to Andrew over the last couple of days so only Andrew will know what his mental state is and he’ll take the time and work it out for himself, I guess,” White said.
Symonds is spending time with family and friends, but those close to him say his decision will not be motivated by money – with fears he will retire and simply earn his fortune in the six-week Indian Premier League.
“If it was about the money he would stay with the Australian team because he makes just as much money from that as he does from the IPL,” a friend of Symonds was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He plays in all three forms of the game and he has got a lot of sponsors out of that.
“He is still processing what it is he really wants.”
Australia will name their squad for India in a fortnight and plan to fly out late this month to acclimatise to the conditions.