IPL 2022: Shane Watson lauds Shane Warne, explains how he was a stand-out RR captain

Shane Warne passed away early this month, to leave a huge void in the cricketing fraternity. The former Aussie spin wizard died due to a suspected heart attack in Thailand and his passing away left many shellshocked. During his illustrious international career, Warne returned with 708 Test wickets and 293 ODI scalps.

Apart from this, Warne also left his mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL), leading the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the championship in the inaugural edition in 2008. Being a part of RR’s victorious run, Shane Watson recalled his days under Warne’s leadership and hailed him in Delhi Capitals’ (DC) virtual press conference.

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”The thing that stood out for me was that Rajasthan were written off because we didn’t have big names as compared to the other teams. The advantage that Rajasthan had was the ability to pull the team together very quickly,” DC’s assistant coach Watson said.

He further opined, ”The incredible skill that Shane Warne had was seeing what people’s roles were and then tapping into that role. For me, that was why he was an incredible leader, because he knew how to tap into a player’s best version. He believed in the players, knew their skill set and where they fit in. For me, that’s why Rajasthan did so well in the first season. He pulled all these from different cultures and different phases of their careers and led from the front.”

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On the other hand, Gujarat Titans’ (GT) spin-bowling all-rounder Rashid Khan also shared his reaction to Warne’s tragic and sudden demise. He said in a virtual presser, ”It was a huge shock. I had a great time with him. It was a huge honour for me that he called me to the MCG to have that 15-minute session with him during the lunch (break) of the Australia-New Zealand match. I was so lucky, I learned so much from him. We had a discussion on how I can be more effective in a long format. He happily shared his experience with me.

”He shared those key points, the mindset, the skill set.’ Only thing he said is that ‘you don’t need to change your speed or action, that is something unique you have, you just need to be consistent, need to be more patient. Sometimes you won’t get a wicket, but that is the time you will be tested mentally and also physically. You have to fit in for those big games. I was looking forward to having him as head coach and playing with him, spending more time with him. That was a dream. We discussed that. He said hopefully we will be in a Hundred ball competition in the UK,” Rashid added.

Warne, at 52, has shattered many’s hearts with his sudden demise. As a result, the whole of Victoria will get to pay its tributes to the spin wizard in Melbourne on March 30, 2022. It will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Brunton Avenue, Richmond.