Shane Warne's illustrious career saw a height which could make envy most of the
players but off the field it was nothing short of a saucy soap opera replete with
sexual escapades.
The 37-year-old is probably from among the rare breed who evoke immense admiration
and scandalous disbelief at the same time.
If his 'ball of the century' would be etched in the memories of his fans for
years to come, the same could also be said about his penchant to court controversies
-- be it concerning women, dope or match-fixing.
In fact, series of sex scandals resulted in an expected break-up with model-wife
Simone with whom he has three children.
Critics sometimes point out to his colourful life off the cricket field for
affecting his performances on it, although there can be no doubt about his sheer
genius as a match-winning bowler.
But his controversy-prone personal life was largely responsible for him being
denied captaincy, which he otherwise deserved truly by virtue of his stature
in the game and staggering records.
The leg-spinning great was named vice-captain once but was stripped of that
designation in 2000 after it emerged that he had flooded a British nurse with
sexually explicit text messages.
Earlier in 1995, Warne, along with Mark Waugh, was fined by the Australian Cricket Board
after he admitted giving match-related information to an Indian
bookie in exchange of money.
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