Warne still craves spaghetti and wickets

All things considered, Shane Warne looks like he hasn’t changed much in the time he’s been away from cricket.

All things considered, Shane Warne looks like he hasn’t changed much in the time he’s been away from cricket. His appetite — for the game and other things — remains the same. Spaghetti and baked beans are still his favourites, and the leg-spinner craves for more wickets even now.

At 38 years, Warne’s career has been nothing short of a roller-coaster — women, bookmakers, diet pills, arguments and counter-arguments. If he had not been able to get something yet, it was the pleasure of being bought by a privately owned club for US $ 450,000 for a period of 44 days. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has even provided him that now. The scale at which the auctions were held, the glamour and excitement that seems to have wrapped the tournament, the idea of coming back to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar has Warne excited. If this wasn’t enough, he’s also been awarded the privilege of leading and coaching the IPL Jaipur team — Rajasthan Royals. When the tournament begins on April 18, Warne will be pitted against the likes of John Buchanan and Tom Moody as coaching opponents, and players such as Tendulkar, Gilchrist, McGrath and Jayasuriya . “It is super exciting,” said the spin wizard yesterday, from a hotel room in Perth.

Elevation to the position of coach-cum-captain has given Warne the two aspects of the game he would want to prove himself in. “I am looking forward to get the best out of my players. Being the captain-coach excites me and Greg Chappell is in Jaipur too. His knowledge of the game is tremendous and, as captain, this form of the game is very challenging,” he says. For all that former and present greats have had to say about him, Warne never got the opportunity to lead Australia’s Test side. It was a position that he yearned for. “I bring to the table my experience and I enjoy winning. I know what it takes to be a winning side.”

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This is the cricketing side of IPL that he’s looking forward to. Off it, Warne seriously believes the International Cricket Council (ICC) has to do something to fit the IPL somewhere in the Future Tours Program (FTP) calendar. “I hope they (ICC) do something to fit the IPL in.” The statement comes just the time when delegates from cricket boards across the world are meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss the issue. “The IPL is on the lines of the Champions League in Europe. It will definitely catch the imagination of a cricket fan. In international cricket, battles between Australia and India, India vs Pakistan and the Ashes are among the most keenly followed ones. But there was a time when it all began. Over a period of time, the IPL too will generate equal interest. A Jaipur-Mumbai rivalry with good team combinations in the exciting Twenty20 format can definitely be relishing,” Warne believes.

Players from different countries in the same team, says Warne, will help reduce cultural conflicts, generate finances that’ll help the game, support business prospects, and provide terrific entertainment.