PTI
 
Melbourne, Nov 17: Controversial Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds said he had "turned bad" and started drinking too much after the "monkeygate" episode with India's Harbhajan Singh during the Sydney Test.

The 33-year-old cricketer was sent back home from the One-day series against Bangladesh in disgrace after he opted to go for fishing instead of attending a compulsory team meeting.

"At times, I was drinking too much and I wasn't a good bloke to be around. I had turned bad, I think, with the buildup of the whole of last summer and the things that had unfolded.

"I wasn't in a great place. Looking back now it probably happened at the right time that I got sent home and told to straighten myself out," Symonds said.

"I feel much better within myself. Even if I don't come back and play great cricket, I know that I have done something that will improve what I need to be as a person."

The infamous "gone-fishing" episode cost him the national jersey during the Australia's tour to India.