RCA files complaint against Warne to IPL

The Rajasthan Cricket Association has complained to the BCCI and IPL that Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne reportedly abused its secretary Sanjay Dixit after his team's loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday. The incident is a continuation of a sharp difference in opinion over the Jaipur pitch that has become public in the past few days.

The Times of India reported that RCA venue director Narendra Joshi had written to IPL's chief operating officer Sundar Raman, alleging that Warne had publicly abused Dixit by calling him "a liar and egoistic" and demanded action against Warne.

The issue is believed to have cropped up since Dixit did not accede to a request to have the match played on a different pitch to the one on which Rajasthan had lost to Chennai. The pitch for both the Chennai and Bangalore games was flat, unlike the slow and low tracks for Rajasthan's first five home games, and had a short boundary, a switch that Warne had criticised after the Chennai match.

Dixit, however, said he did not have any say in the selection of the pitch. "The BCCI has already clarified that the pitch comes under the purview of the pitch committee and curator. So, how could I have acceded to his demand?" Dixit told the paper. "His behaviour was totally unjustified and I have asked for action against him."

After the Chennai game, Warne had said Rajasthan had never been told which pitch to play on for four years until that game. However, Dixit had at the time clarified that teams had never been in charge of choosing the pitch for IPL matches, and said he was surprised by Warne's comments. The BCCI had ratified that in a statement that said: "Neither of the playing teams has a choice of the wicket, on which to play the game. It is the curator, in consultation with the committee chairman, who prepares the wickets."

The Jaipur pitch first became a topic of discussion after Mumbai Indians were restricted to 94 for 8 on it, and Sachin Tendulkar called the track two-paced. At the time both Warne and Dixit had criticised Mumbai for their comments on the pitch. The BCCI's pitches committee head Venkat Sundaram attended Rajasthan's next home game, and took the decision to switch the pitch for the Chennai game. The same pitch was then used for Rajasthan's last home game, which was also Warne's last match in Jaipur, and Rajasthan were once again comprehensively beaten.