June 6, New Delhi

Symonds, who has been sent home from England after contravening team rules, was instrumental in the Chargers winning the second edition of the IPL, and the Hyderabad-based side is not perturbed by the all-rounder's latest indiscretion.

"We are very happy to have him. This is not the first time he has been pulled up by Cricket Australia. Even in the past before coming to the IPL he was involved in (controversies). He is a great guy, a phenomenal team player, who has done fantastic jobs for us," said PK Iyer, the managing director Deccan Holdings, the Chargers' parent company. "He is one of the best team players we have seen," Iyer said.

Symonds' agent Matt Fearon indicated the all-rounder would continue playing in the IPL. "He loves playing cricket, and he loves playing it with people he fits in with. The Twenty20 route is an option, but there are still a lot of unknowns. I suppose Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist have demonstrated that you can be successful in Twenty20 cricket for a long time. That might be something he wants to concentrate on," Fearon said.

"Andrew really enjoyed his time in the IPL. It may be too early to say, but I don't see him walking away from that," he added.

Chargers paid $1.35 million for Symonds' services at the first IPL auction. He left the Chargers mid-way through the inaugural IPL to join the Australian team on their tour of the Caribbean.

This year, he was restricted to playing just eight games in the final phase of the tournament in South Africa due to his involvement in Australia's ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE.

But, his impact has been profound. His unbeaten 117 against Rajasthan was the second-highest individual innings of the inaugural IPL, and his average of 35.57 (at a robust strike-rate of 150) led all Chargers batsmen this year.

Symonds also claimed seven wickets at 22.85 in IPL II, including the vital scalps of Taylor and Kohli which turned the final the Chargers' way. PTI