Jaipur batsman Yusuf Pathan has accused Hyderabad and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds of sledging him.

Yusuf, who played a whirlwind knock of 73 not out to lead Jaipur to a comfortable win against Hyderabad in Ahmedabad on Friday, said Symonds’ verbal attack spurred him to play yet another aggressive innings.

The right-handed batsman, who was yesterday named in India's squad for the ICC World Twenty20 revealed Symonds said a few words to him when he went into bat at the Motera and that propelled him to do bat the way he did.

Symonds has been in the news for all the wrong reasons even in his playing days for Australia, often inviting bans that saw him out of action for long intervals.

The all-rounder had grabbed the headlines on India’s tour of Australia two years back when he had accused off-spinner Harbhajan Singh of abusing him racially, a charge that was later dismissed in a hearing with the ICC Match Referee.

Symonds was seen escorting Bangalore opener Manish Pandey all the way to the crease last year in South Africa, probably letting lose more of his ‘aggressive and competitive side.’

His sharp tongue lashing has not even spared the IPL organisers, saying there is an overkill of cricket in the league.

"I don't know if the quality of cricket will be as high because they will get tired. They will get injured and that's a concern."

"Lalit (Modi) needs a band of merry men who are going to put their heads together and ensure they get it right. He obviously wants the IPL to be the best and the most special thing in cricket. But to get that you have to look after your cattle, you can't just keep driving and whipping them," Symonds was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

Symonds has been out of the Australian side since he was sent home from England, following a drinking escapade in the middle of the ICC World Twenty20 last year.

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