“You are making heaven a more charming place” - Sachin Tendulkar remembers Shane Warne with heartfelt post on Australian's 1st death anniversary
Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar shared a heartwarming post to remember former Australian leg-spinner and his good friend Shane Warne on the latter’s first death anniversary.
Warne, who is credited with reviving the art of leg-spin, died on March 4 last year while holidaying on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand. His sudden passing away at the age of only 52 sent shockwaves through cricketing circles, with the sporting fraternity and fans expressing disbelief
Tendulkar, who had many on-field battles with the late Aussie, was great friends with the spin wizard. On the former Australian cricketer’s first death anniversary, the Indian cricket great took to Twitter to share an emotional post. While uploading a picture of the two together, Tendulkar wrote:
“We have had some memorable battles on the field & shared equally memorable moments off it. I miss you not only as a great cricketer but also as a great friend. I am sure you are making heaven a more charming place than it ever was with your sense of humour and charisma, Warnie!”
Regarded by many as the finest leg-spinner in the history of the game, Warne played 145 Tests and 194 ODIs, claiming 708 and 293 wickets respectively. He was part of the Australian team that won the ODI World Cup in 1999. Warne was Player of the Match in the semifinal and final.
When Shane Warne could not handle spicy food served at Tendulkar’s home
In the Amazon Prime Video documentary 'Shane', Warne revealed a funny incident that occurred when he visited Tendulkar’s home in Mumbai for dinner. The former cricketer had revealed that he simply could not handle the spicy food that was served. He had said in the documentary:
"I went to his place (in Mumbai) … I thought I will go for dinner and then go back to the hotel. I took a bite of the chicken to start with and nearly blew my head off. I kept cutting it up and moving it to the side. I had too much respect for him and for his family."
Chipping in, Tendulkar recalled:
"We were in Mumbai, and I said why don’t you come home for a meal. I said, 'Do you like Indian food?' He said 'I love it', and he said 'however you guys cook at home.'"
He continued:
"While I am busy serving others, Shane is putting his food onto his plate, and that’s when I realised Shane cannot handle spicy food. He didn’t want to hurt me, but he kept nudging my manager and saying ‘help me’. By the end of that evening, Shane had gone into the kitchen and was making sausages and beans and mashed potatoes - he ended up eating that at my place."
After an illustrious international career, Warne announced his retirement in 2007. However, the very next year, he inspired Rajasthan Royals to victory in the inaugural edition of the IPL.