“Come on Warnie, need a wicket in this over and get us back in the game”
This line, captains of Australia who Warne has played under have used whenever he comes into bowl… and bang you know the result at the end.
Shane Keith Warne, the name itself is enough to define who he was and without any argument the greatest of spinner and rightfully the SPIN KING.
There have been many deliveries where commentators and spectators have said “wow what a delivery”, but producing the “the ball of the century” which has been for almost 30 years and still been discussed till date. This was Shane Warne and only he could do this.
1993- Shane Warne bowling to Mike Gatting – pitches on leg stump and wizardly spins and hits on off stump. That was the ball of the century, and still no one has come close to it. The clip is still on YouTube and after watching it you’ll understand why he was the Spin King.
Growing up everyone wanted to be a Shane Warne. Everyone copied his bowling style and tried spinning like him. I, personally idolized Shane Warne and wanted to be like him, but as they say there could be only one Warne and it was rightfully said.
Sometimes you wonder, how, just how, how does he make the batsman look clueless.
Warnie was also a great captain. The first captain to win the IPL trophy where no one even considered them to be in the top 4, and from there winning the trophy just states his character. When every team had its star struck top players, he made unheard players into superstars.
For example: Ravindra Jadeja. You may know Jadeja through CSK, but it was Warne who discovered him through the U19’s and defined him as a superstar and rockstar of the game.
Warne was not only a great ambassador of the game, but also a great human being. He has done so many funds which has saved a lot of lives of people. Two examples which come into my mind is the Tsunami relief fund where he and Muralidaran came and helped when Sri Lanka was tragically hit by a Tsunami and finally the Australia’s bushfire where he sold his Baggy Green cap and raised funds. I mean, every Australian cricketer dreams to have a Baggy Green and keeps it with them lifetime, but for him to auction his cap and raise funds just defines his humanity.
Finally, a tweet which Yuzi Chahal has emotionally written down where he says “Can feel my hands shaking as I type this out. The reason behind me opting for bowling leg spin. My inspiration, my idol since childhood. RIP LEGEND”. I seriously can relate to this tweet, because genuinely as I’m typing this, I’m shocked, my hands are shaking and I can’t believe my cricketing idol has passed away. A week ago, I was just watching his documentary and now hearing this news just tremors me.
RIP WARNIE, GONE TOO SOON