The death of former Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds has left cricketers across the world united in shock and grief.
Australian cricketers Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, and former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar among several others took to Twitter to pay their tributes to the cricket legend and the "most loyal, fun, loving friend who would do anything for you".
Symonds passed away on Saturday evening in a car accident. He was 46 years old, and had played 26 Tests and 198 one-day internationals through the course of his illustrious career.
Gilchrist, who played alongside Symonds in most of the all-rounder's 26 Tests and 198 ODIs with the duo achieving great success both with the red and white ball under Ricky Ponting, added he was simply stunned by the news.
Giving an insight into Symonds' life, Gilchrist said that while he wouldn't call the all-rounder a practical joker but his ability to come up with funny comments endeared him to his fellow players.
"I wouldn't say so much a practical joker, but he just seemed to find a funny line or a funny comment at any given time," Gilchrist said. "He was a true work hard and play hard (person), I think we all saw that. There was almost a beautiful naivety to a lot of things and innocence.
"He was so knowledgeable in the game of cricket, a whole lot more knowledgeable and articulate than what people might give him credit for. That was starting to shine through in his commentary, his ability to read the game and to know what was going to happen... it was amazing, it was an asset and a skill that Ricky Ponting as captain drew on a lot more than people know."
Gilchrist also lauded Symonds' contribution to Australian cricket, saying that many a time he brought the team back from the brink of defeat to win the games for the side with his powerful hitting, crafty bowling and superb fielding.
"So many times he did save us, particularly when he was batting at five or six in One Day cricket," Gilchrist said. "It's a bit of a rebuild type position, and the one that jumps straight to mind is the innings against Pakistan at Johannesburg in the opening match of the 2003 World Cup.
"We found ourselves in trouble, 'Roy' went in at 4/80 or something and pulled off one of the great hundreds, that was the launch of an undefeated run at a World Cup. Without Roy's innings in that game who knows what happens, he set the tone. That's probably the innings that really springs to mind for me."
Here's how the rest of the cricketing world reacted on a devastating Sunday morning.
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