Mohali (Punjab) [India], March 5 (ANI): The Indian captain Rohit Sharma and batter Virat Kohli on Saturday paid tribute to Shane Warne after the Australian leg-spinner passed away at the age of 52 on Friday. The iconic spinner passed away in Thailand following a suspected heart attack. Indian captain Rohit Sharma condoled the demise of spinner Shane Warne, calling it a huge loss in the cricketing world and he also said that Warne inspired the whole new generation of cricketers and he did wonders with the ball.
“Absolutely devastated to hear the news of Shane Warne passing away. It’s a huge huge loss in our cricketing world. And we do all understand his contribution to the cricketing world. He inspired the whole new generation of cricketers and he did wonders with the ball, we all know about that. So it’s a huge huge loss, you know as soon as we got to hear, it was so sad and extremely sad to hear. But I just want to give condolences to his family, his three children and the loved ones,” said Rohit Sharma in a video on BCCI’s official Twitter account.
Star batter Virat Kohli also grieved the unfortunate demise of legendry leg-spinner Shane Warne, calling his passing unpredictable and fickle and he is still in shock and disbelief by the news. “We got the sad news last night about the demise of Shane Warne. Out of nowhere, to be honest, we carry on doing what we do in life, we think everything is all about what we are doing in the present moment all are troubles and things going wrong and things that we look forward to. We realised very quickly that life is so unpredictable and fickle. We just need to be grateful for all the moments that we are alive. Passing at the age of 52 is something that is totally unexpected and went far too early. I stand here in disbelief and shock,” said Virat Kohli.
“I got to know him off the field as well and the persona and charisma he brought to every conversation he was a part of, I can understand what he brought to the field as well. He was an honest man any conversation you had with him you can see the passion, spoke so clearly and he knows what he was saying. Live life king size just very grateful to have known him and to he was the greatest spinner that I have ever played in the game.
“Needless to say he surely will be missed. That I hope we can put things in the right perspective in life knowing how unpredictable things are. My deepest condolence to his family, his close ones, his children and his parents, I know how difficult it would be and they have all our support and they are in our thoughts. God bless his soul,” he added.
The leg-spinner was known for his guile bowling and took a total of 1001 wickets. He became the first-ever bowler to scale the peak of 1,000 international wickets. (ANI)
Ind vs SL: Both teams wear black armbands in memory of Shane Warne
Mohali (Punjab) [India], March 5 (ANI): In the ongoing first Test between India and Sri Lanka, both teams walked out on Day 2 wearing black armbands in memory of leg-spinner Shane Warne. Warne passed away on Friday, aged 52 due to a suspected heart attack. India and Sri Lanka also observed a minute of silence before the start of the play to condole the demise of Warne and Rodney Marsh.
“A minute’s silence was observed before the start of play on Day 2 of the first Test for Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne who passed away yesterday. The Indian Cricket Team will also be wearing black armbands today,” an official statement from BCCI stated. Warne was one of the most influential cricketers in history. He almost single-handedly reinvented the art of leg-spin when he burst onto the international scene in the early 1990s, and by the time he retired from international cricket in 2007, he had become the first bowler to reach 700 Test wickets.
A central figure in Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup triumph in 1999, when he was player of the match in both the semi-final and the final, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack recognized Shane’s achievements by naming him as one of its Five Cricketers of the Twentieth Century. Warne finished his international career with 708 Test wickets and a further 293 in One-Day Internationals, placing him second in the list of all-time international wicket-takers behind his great friend and rival Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (1,347). Shane also captained Australia in 11 One-Day Internationals, winning 10 and losing just once. (ANI)
