Warne commits ultimate sin, says IPL missing Modi

It will be interesting to see how the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will react to this. It seems Shane Warne has finally snapped.

Talking exclusively to a television channel, a visibly upset Warne on Thursday termed the IPL Disciplinary Commission’s decision to impose a fine of $50,000 as “immature” and indicated that the sacked IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was pivotal to the success of the Indian Premier league.

“Not saddened about what happened at all. I got fined for telling the truth. The incident was silly, pity and a bit immature. I won’t let this spoil my IPL and the experience I have (had here),” said Warne. “No regrets at all because you cannot change the past. I should have gifted Sanjay Dixit a pair of Spinners underwear. The IPL is not the same without Lalit Modi.”

Dixit had complained about Warne’s misbehaviour to the IPL and the BCCI, alleging that Warne maligned him, post the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Jaipur on May 11. The fracas happened after Warne’s request for a specific pitch to be made available for the game was turned down by Dixit.

The IPL Disciplinary Commission had also mentioned that any future occurrences committed by Warne or any other person may result in the imposition of a fine, which may be higher than the fine that was initially imposed, a ban for a number of matches and/or the deduction of points from the relevant teams.

For much of the last two years, Modi has been a bit of a taboo topic for the BCCI. During the IPL, it has tried to keep his mention to a minimum, but due to the Dixit-Warne battle, he’s back in the limelight.

Now, with Warne mentioning him openly, the BCCI is likely to deal with him very hard. At this stage though, it doesn’t look like the Australian is bothered. He had something to say and he has said it. Dixit and the BCCI, however, will be fuming.

Because not only has he defied them, but he has also pointed a finger at their ability to run the Indian Premier League. Rest assured, this isn’t the last that we’ve heard of Warne, Dixit or the BCCI. The fight’s only just starting.