On his last day in Jaipur, Warnie looked a forlorn soul. He did not do his handshake with the presentation party members as he would normally do, and 15 minutes after the presentation had an altercation with me for not being given the pitch and the pitch preparation that he wanted.
This was the ugly side of a master cricketer who was an absolute tormentor of batsmen of his generation, and sent shudders up many a spine. In a format like T20, batsmen preferred to see his 4 overs off without incident. The success of the great Australian side under Mark Taylor, Waugh, and Ponting had Warne as a key factor. Except Indians, he defeated batsmen of every country with his mesmerizing brand of spin and was largely responsible, along with Anil Kumble, for revival of leg spin as a potent force in international cricket.
On the field, he was an absorbed, passionate maestro, a complete cricketer who could fool the best of batsmen. He was a feisty fighter, fiercely competitive on the field, but a moody and unpredictable character off it. Nobody can forget the 'ball of the century' which bowled Mike Gatting and so demoralized the English side that they could hardly recover in that 1993 series. Similarly, his bowling of Basit Ali round his legs off the last ball of the day's play is the stuff of legend. He carried out these cameos with uncanny regularity. His last Ashes series in England 2006, in which he got 40 wickets and 249 runs, would have done even an all-rounder of the caliber of Gary Sobers proud.
This on field genius was, however a mercurial maverick off it. This was a classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde paradox which has bemused, entertained and intrigued the cricket world over two decades. Commissioned specially to look into the good, bad and ugly aspects of Shane Warne the gladiator, I decided to talk to a variety of people who saw him at close quarters in Jaipur.
Is Shane Warne being a bitter loser or genuinely aggrieved? It can be anyone’s conjecture but his latest conduct might attract censure. He could even be disciplined by the governing council of the Indian Premier League.
On Wednesday, Warne reportedly got into a heated argument with a Rajasthan Cricket Association official over the pitch laid out Rajasthan Royals’ last home match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at SMS Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday night. The Royals were thrashed by nine wickets by the Bangalore side.
Post match, Warne reportedly hauled up RCA secretary Sanjay Dixit for not acceding to his request of laying a slow track. He was unhappy with the bouncy track that was not suited to Royals bowlers. Warne had a similar grievance after Royals match against Chennai Super Kings at the same ground on Sunday.
The RCA, it is learnt, has lodged a complaint with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) alleging that Warne had misbehaved with Dixit. Venue director Narendra Joshi has written to IPL’s commissioner Chirayu Amin and chief operating officer Sundar Raman. Dixit has also taken up the matter and lodged a complaint with the BCCI. It was alleged that Warne had called Dixit “a liar and egoistic.” Warne also contended that Dixit did not reply tohis message. The tempers, witnessed after the post-match presentation, was that cooled down by the intervention of Shilpa Shetty. She reportedly apologised to Dixit for the incident.
Reports said Dixit has forwarded the text messages to BCCI which Warne had repeatedly sent him asking for a certain type of pitch laid for the home matches.
When Dixit was asked about the incident, he said Warne’s behaviour probably came out of frustration for the team’s back-to-back defeats, which eliminated Royals’ chances of making it to the playoffs. “The BCCI has already clarified that the pitch comes under the purview of the pitch committee and curator. So, how could I have acceded to his demand? he questioned. “His behaviour was totally unjustified and I have asked for action against him. Shilpa Shetty was gracious to come and calm things down,” Dixit added.
The matter is likely to go to the five-member disciplinary committee which will hear the complaint and deliver a verdict before the Royals next match against Kochi Tuskers in Indore on May 15.
Rajasthan Royals were banking on low and slow home conditions to come good in the tournament but after Tendulkar’s remark, the BCCI had rushed off its Grounds and Wickets Committee chairman, Venkat Sundaram to Jaipur to prepare a new strip for the remaining IPL matches at the ground.
