WARNE ESCAPED FROM BAN WITH $50000

Posted by sports | Posted in | Posted on 5:49 AM

MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne on Wednesday escaped a ban but was fined $50,000 for his public spat with RCA secretary Sanjay Dixit, thus clearing the decks for the Australian spin legend's swansong IPL appearance on Friday.

The IPL's disciplinary commission, which had summoned both Warne and Dixit for a hearing on Tuesday, decided to let off Warne with only a fine after considering that the Australian cricketer had already apologised for his outburst.

Warne was fined for breach of playing contract and warned of a harsher punishment in case he repeated such an offence.

"The commission has decided to impose a fine of $50,000 upon Warne," a statement from the IPL's disciplinary procedure commission said.

"The commission is conscious of the duty of all parties involved in the Indian Premier League, to uphold the image and reputation of the game of cricket, the BCCI and the League at all relevant times. Any action which is a breach of this duty is to be treated with all necessary severity.

"It regards the public criticism of Dixit as being a serious breach by Warne of his IPL playing contract. However, at the same time, the commission also recognises that Warne has apologised to Dixit, and that the incident occurred just after the Match," the statement said.