Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals released a video on Wednesday of their Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara paying heartfelt tribute to former captain and cricket legend Shane Warne, who died earlier this month at the age of 52.
Shane Warne was remembered in a moving state memorial service in Melbourne, with music legends Elton John and Chris Martin performing via video link. His family was present at the MCG, where a stand was named after him.
Warne shared a great relationship with the Rajasthan Royals whom he captained and coached the team to the IPL 2002 title. After retiring from the game, Warne remained connected to the franchise as their mentor and was supposed to join them for the IPL 2022 season as well.
However, before that, Warne died at the age of 52 as a result of an apparent cardiac arrest while on vacation in Thailand on March 4.
The Rajasthan Royals shared a video of their director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara paying rich tribute to Shane Warne.
“Thank you to him for being him; for being the king, for being Warnie,” was the caption that the Royals used along with Sangakkara's video.
“I could talk about what he did on the field, in terms of his skill, in terms of his genius. How great his cricketing brain was. Tactically he was a genius. But it all pales in comparison to how he touched people when he interacted with them.”
“He had a big heart that had room for everyone. He made people believe the impossible was possible. He believed he could do anything and he believed that if you were with him on the field in his company, you could do the same."
“He was larger than life, unique, authentic, and original and he lived life to the fullest."
"He lived life exactly the way he thought it should be lived and all of us, we loved him for it. It's a tough time for all of us, those who knew him well. For his family and fans. As he goes on his final journey I am sending him and his family all my love. Just appreciating the mark that he left in all our lives and the cricketing world in general."
"But most of all I want to say Thank you to him for being him; for being the king, for being Warnie. God will bless you my friend and God will keep you," said the Sri Lankan legend in an emotional tribute.
The larger-than-life "king of spin" was honored at a two-hour service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with more than 50,000 free tickets handed out. It was beamed live to cricket grounds across Australia and watched around the world.
(With AFP inputs)
