Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif recalled playing under Shane Warne’s captaincy during IPL 2008. He talked about how the leg-spinner’s tactical move helped Rajasthan Royals dismiss Adam Gilchrist in a clash against now-defunct Deccan Chargers.
Warne’s sudden demise jolted the entire cricket fraternity. The former Australian spinner on Saturday (4th March) passed away due to a suspected heart attack at his villa in Thailand.
Warne was arguably the best spinner the game has ever witnessed with over 1000 wickets across formats. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket with 708 scalps in 145 matches and also bagged 293 ODI wickets in 194 matches.
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In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Australian legend captained Rajasthan Royals and led them to title triumph in the inaugural edition of the tournament. He played 55 games for the franchise and picked up 57 wickets at an economy rate of 7.27.
Speaking to the Sportskeeda, Mohammad Kaif, who was a part of Rajasthan Royals in 2008, revealed how Shane Warne planned Adam Gilchrist’s dismissal by giving a new ball to Yusuf Pathan.
He admitted that he was shocked with his decision to give a new ball to Pathan but his call paid off as the all-rounder removed the wicketkeeper batter.
“When we went to play the Deccan Chargers, he gave the new ball to Yusuf Pathan to bowl against Gilchrist. I was shocked that, ‘Boss, how is Yusuf Pathan bowling?’ But he knew Gilchrist very well, he knew Gilchrist liked the fast ball but might struggle against off-spin. And Yusuf got him out in that game,” he said.
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Kaif hailed Warne as ‘very shrewd, attacking and clever’. He talked about how the leg-spinner impacted the T20 format and always told his bowlers to bowl their best ball and not to think about getting wickets.
"He was very clever, very shrewd, very attacking, chirpy, talkative – he would not relax even for a single ball. I remember, for the first time, someone talking about the T20 format in detail. When bowlers used to go back to their mark, he would always go up and tell them to think about getting the wicket and bowling their best ball,” he said.
Contrasting Shane Warne to other T20 captains, Kaif recalled how at Rajasthan Royals the Australian asked his bowlers to focus on dismissing the opposition’s best batter. He said this intent from the captain makes the bowler feel more confident and aggressive in his approach.
"I have worked with IPL teams, and in the bowling meetings, the talk is always about bowling short or wide outside off stump and conceding a single. But he would always ask his bowlers to get the best batter out. Because, he knew that would eventually seal the game for us. And when the captain says this, your confidence goes up as a bowler and you’re not worried to even get hit for three sixes. This is something that many captains don’t do in T20 cricket," he said.
(Sportskeeda inputs)
