Shane Warne reveals immediate reaction after shock 2003 World Cup ban

Former Australia spinner Shane Warne is arguably one of the best spinners to have played the game. Shane Warne's career lasted for almost two decades as he played 145 Tests and picked up 708 wickets. The leg-spinner also bagged 293 scalps in 194 ODIs. His career lasted till 2007 and he was also named one of the Wisden's 5 cricketers of the 20th century.

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Shane Warne reveals how he broke down in front of teammates

In an interview with Mark Howard for Fox Cricket, Shane Warne recalled how he broke down in front of his teammates after he was banned midway through the 2003 World Cup. Shane Warne was playing the 2003 World Cup when Cricket Australia (CA) asked him to fly home after the legendary spinner tested positive for a banned diuretic drug in early 2003 in the middle of the tournament. Shane Warne was banned for 12 months by CA. 

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In the interview, Shane Warne said that CA made the decision to send him home. He added that before flying back home, he had to address the team, which was really hard because he said he was anti-drugs and he didn't do or touched them ever. Shane Warne further said that apologising to the team on the eve of the World Cup was embarrassing.

He further said that he felt bad to unsettle the team's groove because they were all on the journey to try and defend their World Cup title. Shane Warne was not aware while he was consuming the drug. It is widely reported that Warne had consumed it after his mother gave it to him to lose weight. At that point, neither Warne or his mother was aware of the banned substance used in medicine. It is believed that Warne used the diuretic to lose weight as well as recover from his shoulder injury faster to play in the World Cup. However, the drug was not known by the cricketer to be a banned substance as per the WADA and the ICC.

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However, Warne's absence remarkably did not hinder Australia's performance as they went on to win the 2003 World Cup. Ricky Ponting, who was extremely critical of Warne's ignorance, was considered to be vital in regrouping the Australian team ahead of their first match against Pakistan within 24 hours. Under pressure himself, Ponting's faith in all-rounder Andrew Symonds was justified as he slammed 143 in the match to get Australia's campaign on track with a convincing win.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BCCI