Shane Warne had a fall in his career in 2003 when he tested positive for a banned diuretic drug during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Cricket Australia (CA) had banned him for one year from the game after finding him guilty.
Warne had claimed that he took only one tablet of drug Moduretic which was given to him by his mother to improve his appearance. However, the committee set up by CA found him guilty, and he was given harsh punishment. He was called back in the middle of the tournament from South Africa.
Shane Warne’s emotional address to his teammates:
In the recent interview, Warne revealed that he had to go through a hard time after CA’s decision. Warne had to address his teammate, before leaving in the middle of the mega event, which was hard for him. The 50-year old was emotional and had broken down in front of his teammate while apologised to them and said that he didn’t do it intentionally.
“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.”
Shane Warne’s absence didn’t affect Australia’s performance in the World Cup 2003 because they went on to lift the trophy for the third time after beating India in the grand finale.
Warne’s return:
Warne worked hard in his one year ban and returned with full power in 2004. He had become more destructive after his return. Against Sri Lanka, which was the first Test series after his return, he became the highest wicket-taker, dismissing 26 Sri Lankan batsman. In 2005, Warne broke the record for the number of wickets in a calendar year, with 96 wickets.
He is one of only two bowlers to have taken 1000+ wickets in international cricket, the other being Muttiah Muralitharan. He retired from international cricket in January 2007, at the end of Australia’s 5–0 Ashes series victory over England.