Steve Waugh says he was only fulfilling his duties as Australian cricket captain by making the tough decision to axe Shane Warne from a 1999 Test match in the West Indies.
Warne this week labelled Waugh the most selfish cricketer he had played with, saying his omission from the 1999 Test was a major factor.
"I don't like Steve Waugh for a lot of other reasons, but that was the reason," Warne said on Network Ten's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! television show.
Waugh says the decision to drop Warne was tough but part of his role as Australian captain.
"To be fair, not only Shane, it wasn't easy to tell them they were dropped," Waugh told Triple M in Adelaide on Friday.
"It wasn't easy telling Adam Dale he was dropped for a Test match or Greg Blewett. There were a number of players I had to tell they weren't playing, Andy Bichel.
"As a captain that is the hardest thing to do. But it's also why you're captain, because people expect you to make the tough decisions for the benefit of the team.
"You have got to do that at times and you have got to be prepared not to be liked by everyone."
Waugh said as a captain, following gut-feel was important.
"I guess the main thing as a captain and leader, as long as people respect your decision that is all you can ask," he said.
"You have got to take a bit of a risk sometimes. It's not always the obvious thing to do.
"Sometimes it can be gut-feel, it can be based on facts ... at the end of the day you are a leader because people expect you to make a choice."
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