One battle at a time for Sanjay Dixit

He has taken on one of the most prolific spinners the world of cricket has produced. For Sanjay Dixit however, the latest war of words between him and Shane Warne seems to be just a transition of battles. He is expected to be present on Tuesday for a disciplinary hearing called by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has also summoned Warne.

Recent controversy aside, the secretary of Rajasthan Cricket Association's main claim to fame was when he defeated Lalit Modi in the RCA elections in 2009. That he did so by a margin of 5 votes was emphatic enough for Dixit, believed to have the backing of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He was also believed to have been instrumental in channeling the wave of anti-Modi sentiments to his advantage.

An IAS officer, Dixit was the president of the Barmer district during his tenure in the 90's and it soon became a vital stepping stone for him to unleash himself on the big scene. It is also said that it was Dixit who framed the sports ordinance of the state but was sidelined, side-stepped and overtaken by Modi who had the backing of Vasundhara Raje, the then CM. What is clear though is that whether it is Dixit or Modi, politics has played a pivotal role in the changing of fortunes in the state's cricket.

An active participant in the development of the sport in the state, Dixit has more recently been in the news for waging a war of words on micro-blogging site Twitter, against Shane Warne on isuues ranging from pitch-fixing to the pitch itself. Warne had alleged that he has witnesses who could back Dixit's predictions for IPL matches. Dixit had retorted asking Warne to back his claims with evidence.

It is also believed that Warne had previously asked Dixit to lay down a favourable pitch at Jaipur to suit the Rajasthan Royals but in vain.

Dixit had also fired a salvo of words against the Mumbai Indians after the visiting team had expressed their displeasure with the pitch at the Sawai Man Singh stadium. "Mumbai is known on the Ranji circuit as the most graceless side. Showing off their pedigree in IPL too," Dixit had tweeted. When Sachin Tendulkar got out in a match at the Wankhede. "Sachin gets out off a full toss. Can't blame the pitch this time."

Interestingly, Dixit had blogged about his role on the website of RCA saying that he was interested in 'dealing with the foundational aspect and will leave the short term to the Gurus pontificating from the coaching manuals.'