One of Wisden’s cricketers of the century, the first bowler to reach 600 and 700 Test wickets, most successful bowler in the history of the Ashes, Shane Keith Warne was also the first captain to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy.
When he retired from international cricket in 2007, he was the leading wicket-taker. Warne is credited for reviving the art of spin bowling in the 1990s and inspiring the next generation of leg-spinners. On March 4 this year, the cricket fraternity and fans from across the world were shocked by the sudden demise of the Australian legend. He died of a suspected heart attack while on vacation in Thailand at the age of 52.
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Since his passing, former and current cricketers have paid rich tribute to the ‘Spin King’ as fans used to call him. So many cricketers recalled their conversations with the legend on and off the field. Dinesh Karthik on Friday (April 15) said in a video posted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore that the ‘King’ was a larger-than-life personality.
“He was a larger-than-life personality. Whoever played with him will talk about his adventures on and off the field. He was a colorful personality and a great character. There are numerous fans of him mainly for his skills and his personality, and his ability to do special things,” he said.
“I remember in South Africa in the second year of IPL, he was bowling and I had gone to bat. He said, 'Hey youngster, let me see what you've got.’ So I was like, 'okay'. I was confident about playing spin bowling. He just opened up the field and said, 'Let me see you hit it there'. I was a young kid, so I flicked the ball and got a top edge back to him. He caught the ball, gave it a kiss, and said, 'bye bye, see you',” Karthik further recalled.
Dinesh Karthik, who is currently playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), then played for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and Shane Warne represented the Rajasthan Royals (RR) between 2008-2011.
Recently Cricket Australia (CA) renamed the Great Southern Stand to ‘Shane Warne Stand’ as a tribute to the genius.
(HT INPUTS)
