The sudden death of Australian spinning legend Shane Warne shocked the cricket fraternity.
Warne, 52, died on Friday (March 4) of suspected heart attack. He was found unresponsive in his villa in Thailand and, despite all the efforts of the medical staff, could not by revived.
On the sidelines of the second day’s match between India and Sri Lanka as part of the ongoing Mohali test, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid grieved Warne’s unfortunate death and said it was a personal loss and that we would remember the great leg-spinner player as long as the game is played.
“I had the privilege and honour to play against Shane Warne. More importantly the great privilege of getting to know him personally and playing with him and alongside him as a colleague, I think that will probably be one of the highlights of my cricketing career,” Dravid said in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter.
“Even if you didn’t meet him very often, he would make it feel like this was personal. It really feels like a personal loss. It’s something that really hurts; it’s sad. As long as the game is being played, someone like Shane Warne and Rodney Marsh will always be remembered,” he added.
Shane Warne’s death news came less than 24 hours after another Australian legend, Rod Marsh, died of a heart attack.
“Really sad day for the game of cricket. To lose two legends in two days, people who truly made the game what it is and truly loved the game, is indeed a deep loss. Our thoughts are with both the families, their friends and may their souls rest in peace.
“I didn’t know Rod that well, I met him a few times. But grew up watching a lot of Rodney Marsh and hearing a lot about him,” said Dravid.
Rahul Dravid had shared the dressing room with Warne at Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2011 after playing against each other in international cricket.
Read More : Rajasthan Royals pens down a heartfelt note to pay tribute to ‘King of Spin’ Shane Warne
“Just to get to know him personally a lot and speak about him as a great cricketer and rightly so; we all know a lot about that. “I think for me what will remain just is the memories of the friendship, of the times we spent together off the field and just the ability to connect. I think that was what was great about Shane Warne,” Dravid said.
#TeamIndia Head Coach Rahul Dravid pays his tributes to Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne. pic.twitter.com/ejIEooYLbF
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2022
Shane Warne played 145 Tests and 194 ODIs between 1992 and 2007 and claimed a total of 1001 wickets during his illustrious career. He played a key role in Australia’s 1999 World Cup triumph.
