Ricky Ponting pays heartfelt tribute to Andrew Symonds: ‘If Roy shook your hand, you had his word’

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting paid a heartfelt tribute to his former teammate Andrew Symonds after his tragic demise on Saturday (May 14). Ex-Australia all-rounder Symonds breathed his last after sustaining grave injuries in a horrific car crash in Queensland, Australia.

As per Queensland Police, Symonds was driving when his car went off the road and rolled over leading to serious injuries to the former Australia all-rounder. Tributes have been pouring in from all corners as the cricket fraternity condoles the demise of Symonds.

One of the finest all-rounders to have played for Australia, Symonds was part of Australia’s two World Cup-winning squads in 2003 and 2007. He was an integral member of the Australian team across formats under the captaincy of Ponting. The former captain took to Twitter to pay tribute to Symonds post his demise.

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“If Roy shook your hand, you had his word, that’s the sort of bloke he was and that’s why I always wanted him on my team. An extraordinary player and even better human being. Can’t believe he’s gone. Thoughts are with his family at this time,” Ponting wrote on Twitter.

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Symonds made his international debut for Australia in an ODI against Pakistan in November 1998. However, he went on to become a force to reckon with under Ponting’s captaincy and played an instrumental role in Australia’s dominance in world cricket under the former skipper.

An explosive hard-hitting batter and a clever bowler, Symonds was one of the true modern-day greats in white-ball cricket. He played 198 ODIs for Australia, amassing 5088 runs at an average of 39.75 and also picked up 133 wickets at an economy of 5.