Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting broke down in tears while speaking about Shane Warne a couple of days after the legendary leg-spinner’s sad demise due to a suspected heart attack.
Shane Warne, 52, was found unresponsive by his friend at the villa on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand, where he was holidaying. He was rushed to the hospital but was eventually pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne took the field together for major part of their careers. The news of the Warne’s passing away in early hours on Saturday left Ponting “shocked”.
“I was shocked I think like probably the rest of the world. I mean I’ve got the messages when I woke up this morning. I went to bed last night knowing that I had to take my daughters for netball and then was confronted with what didn’t seem quite real at that time and even now probably doesn’t really seem like it’s real either so I’ve had a few hours now to digest it all and think about how a part of my life he was and reflect on a lot of those memories through the years,” Ricky Ponting said.
Ricky Ponting, who shared his highs and lows with Warne and captained the leggie for the second half of his career, got emotional and had tears in his eyes while speaking further. He said that Warne was the most competitive bowler he had played with or against, someone who revolutionised the art of spin bowling in the world.
“Halfway through my career when we turned up to do coaching clinics and whatever else, every young kid in Australia wanted to be Shane Warne and bowl leg spin. He is going to go down as one of the greats of the game if not one the greatest. I’ve never played with a more better and competitive bowler, someone who changed and revolutionised spin bowling back into the world game,” the Ricky Ponting added.
Here, you can watch Ponting’s emotional tribute to Warne:
Revered as arguably the greatest-ever bowler, Shane Warne had made his debut against India in 1992, and went on to attain greatness in spin bowling, claiming 1001 international wickets – 293 in ODIs and 708 Test wickets – a tally only bettered by Sri Lanka’s Muralitharan. He won five Ashes series and the 1999 World Cup, playing a crucial role in all of them.
Melbourne Cricket Ground to the SK Warne stand. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison have also contacted the Warne family to offer a state funeral.
