Australian cricket legend Shane Warne died on Friday at the age of 52.
Warne’s management released a brief statement confirming the news. “Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” said the statement.
“The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
Warne is regarded as one of the finest leg-spin bowlers of all time, bagging 708 Test wickets in a career that spanned from 1992 to 2007.
Following the news of Shane Warne’s death, cricketers and fans from all over the world started expressing their grief and sadness over his demise.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, tweeted, “He literally inspired generations with his magical leg-spin. You’ll forever be missed.”
Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi tweeted, “The game of cricket has lost what I consider a university of leg-spin bowling today. I was inspired by his bowling from the start of my career and it was always a privilege to play against him.”
Pakistan’s former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in a video message said, “It’s going to take a long time to get over this loss.”
Australia opener David Warner grieved the loss of “two legends” — Warne and Marsh — saying that they had left too soon.
“I’m lost for words, and this is extremely sad,” he tweeted.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag said: “One of the greatest spinners, the man who made spin cool, superstar Shane Warne is no more.”
West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle tweeted, “RIP LEGEND.”
Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara also expressed disbelief, saying that he was “absolutely shocked and gutted” to hear about the death of a “legend and friend”.
Waqar Younis shared similar sentiments and said it was a “very, very sad day for our cricket community. The biggest superstar of my generation [is] gone”.
