Arguably the greatest spinner of all time, Shane Warne has passed away on Friday, as reported by Fox Sports. Warne’s management released a brief statement, that he has died in Koh Samui, Thailand, of a “suspected heart attack”.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” the statement reads. “The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
Earlier in the day, Warne had tweeted his condolences on the demise of another Aussie legend, Rod Marsh, who died on Friday after he had suffered a major heart attack last week. Now this news of beloved ‘Warnie’, aged 52, passing away has sent the fans and cricketers in a state of shock and disbelief.
Warne, who was named as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Century, claimed 708 Test wickets, second only to Muttiah Muralitharan, in a 15-year career between 1992 and 2007, and was also a World Cup winner with Australia in 1999.
He also snared 293 ODI scalps in 194 games; overall his tally of 1001 international wickets is only bettered by Muralitharan who claimed 1347 international dismissals. Warne, by many, is regarded as the greatest and smartest bowler to have played the game.
Following his international retirement, Shane Warne featured in the IPL, leading a young and inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to the title in the inaugural season in 2008. He played in the BBL as well before calling time in 2013. He then entered the commentary field and has been a vocal pundit, voicing opinions in broadcasts as well as on social media about the game and the players.
The Victorian also had his fair share of off-field scandals, including women, a bookmaker, then diet pills that saw him getting banned for a year.
Shane Warne broke to fame when delivered the famous Ball of the Century, the Gatting Ball, in his debut Ashes series in 1993, and went on to attain greatness in the sport.
Meanwhile, popular Indian journalist Abhijit Majumdar took to his Twitter to pay his heartfelt tribute to the legendary cricketer. Abhijit posted a beautiful Tweet that describes the King size life lived by Shane Warne. He wrote:
“Spending 52 years on this planet like Shane Warne is worth way, way more than living a blah life for a 100 years.
#ShaneWarne“
Here, check out the
Tweet:
