"He had no issue, he thought it was funny" - Shane Warne apologizes to Marnus Labuschagne for his abusive comments
Former Australian spinner Shane Warne has apologized to Marnus Labuschagne for his comments which mistakenly went to air last week.
Warne and Andrew Symonds were caught red-handed for mocking Labuschagne's eccentric batting traits on Foxtel-owned streaming service Kayo. The 51-year-old has now confirmed that both he and Symonds reached out to the Australian batsman and apologized.
Shane Warne feels Marnus Labuschagne bats at his best when he doesn't do the eccentric things on the pitch like calling out loudly. The former leg-spinner said to News Corp:
"Marnus bats best when he forgets all the exaggeration stuff, like calling, “No”, “Yes” and “Wait on” really loudly and waving his bat around. I like it when he just bats — and that’s why I said to Andrew Symonds, that he should just bat properly. I’ve communicated with Marnus about what went to air last week, and I would like to apologise for swearing on TV. Marnus had no issue. He thought it was funny. Andrew has also apologised to Marnus, too.”
Shane Warne feels Marnus Labuschagne can become one of the best batsmen in the world
The former leg-spinner changed his tune and said Marnus Labuschagne could go on to become one of the best batsmen in the world. He also backed the Australian batter to challenge the likes of Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli.
"All of a sudden Marnus Labuschagne (293 runs) and Steve Smith (222) lead the series with the bat, I think Labuschagne can challenge Kane Williamson, Smith and Virat Kohli as the best batsman in the world, and he is currently fourth in the ICC rankings.” said Shane Warne.
Matthew Wade's responds to Warne & Syminds comments
As soon as Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds' video went viral, it became clear that their gaffe even reached the Australian dressing room. On the final day of the third Test, Matthew Wade made a remark on the comments made by Warne and Symonds. Wade was caught saying caught on the stump mic:
“I’ll be coaching in 10 years if you’re playing and I’ll be saying ‘if you'd just had taken Warnie and Roy’s advice back at the start, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Labuschagne replied:
“Stump mic must be on.”
As they say, all's well that ends well, and it seems like Marnus Labuschagne didn't take much offence to the comments. Nevertheless, Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds still reached out to him and apologized.