During his playing days, legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne was a showstopper on the field. However, he often used to find himself in controversies because of his off-field antics.
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Among the long list of Warne’s controversial stories, one was him failing a drug test during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
Cricket Australia had called back Warne in the middle of the showpiece tournament after he tested positive for a diuretic – a drug that was given to him by his mother for weight loss.
Recently, the leg-spin legend recalled the torrid period and disclosed that he broke down while addressing his teammates after he was asked to go back home.
“Cricket Australia make the decision to send me home, so I have to address the team, which was really hard because as I said I’m anti-drugs, I don’t do them, never touched them,” Warne told Mark Howard in an interview for Fox Cricket.
“Apologising to them just on the eve of the World Cup was I felt so bad to unsettle their groove because we were all on the journey to try win that World Cup. I broke down (in tears) in front of the team. It was tough.”
As it turned out, Warne was eventually banned for a year by the board. However, his teammates didn't let the setback affect their performance as Australia went on to lift the 2003 World Cup without losing a single match in the competition.
During the interview, Warne also opened up about the phase in which he dated actress Elizabeth Hurley and how his family was hounded by the media.
"I suppose it was the sporting world meeting her world It was one of those things where we just collided. When she first came to Australia we had been seeing each other for about six months or so, so I didn’t introduce her to my children until it was real and I believed it had a future — it wasn’t just a bit of fun.
“So six months down the track she finally comes to meet the children in Australia and it was an absolute circus. (I’m) quite sad it’s over because I still care about her deeply and she’s a wonderful person,” Warne said.
