Shane Warne: An emotion for all 90s kids
Ever since the news of Shane Warne's sad demise came in, tributes have been flowing in from across the cricketing world and beyond.
Former and current players who have shared dressing rooms with him, opponents who have been bamboozled by his fine art, famed commentators, noted writers, and fans have all poured their heart out for their beloved "Warnie". And I have been thinking, what else can I write about the Australian wizard?
Hard to put this into words. I first met him when I was 15 at the Academy. He gave me my nickname.
We were teammates for more than a decade, riding all the highs and lows together.
Through it all he was someone you could always count on, someone who loved his family... https://t.co/KIvo7s9Ogp
In the good old days of telegram, every word cost money. So, if someone had charged me for putting up a column, would I still have written about him? I have never met or spoken with him, nor can I share any interesting anecdotes about him. The closest I came to any story around the man was when I met Mike Gatting. I never asked him about the 'ball of the century’ as I felt the Englishman would by now be bored talking about it.
But then the Aussie probably had an impact, like no other overseas cricketer, on millions of kids like me in the 90s in India. Hence, I decided to pen down my feelings and hope it does justice to the emotion called Shane Warne.
Shane Warne made bowling appear sexy
Yes, for us, he was an emotion. In a game dominated by the willow, Warne made bowling appear sexy.
We have all tried to copy his actions at some point in our lives. Those folded sleeves, spinning the ball from one hand to the other, tongue coming out, a gentle stroll to the crease and hoping for magic to happen.
The fact that the rubber ball delivered by us didn’t even spin a fraction of what Warne managed with the red or white ball, hardly mattered to us. And if it did lead to a wicket, we would also run with one hand up in celebration like Warne.
Channel Nine’s commentary combined with Warne’s zooter was a delight for the fans. Speaking of zooter, I was amazed to find a website named after this mystery ball.
We were in awe of the man and his art. Just the fact that we could try and emulate his actions made us feel good. Most cricket groups in the Maidaans and gullies of India in those days would have that one guy whose action was closest to Warne, and we would be jealous of him. In our circles, we have tried to have our own Sachin (Tendulkar) vs (Shane) Warne battles. If our keeper, shouted, "Bowling Warnie" la Ian Healy, we were on cloud nine.
Warne's magic never faded
One of the finest to have ever played the game, the first captain to win the IPL Trophy.
Rest in peace, Legend! https://t.co/vpKgW0VRhD
As we went from school to college, Warne was still busy spinning a web around the batters. Post his retirement, just his presence in the Rajasthan Royals team made the franchise a sizeable fan following.
Of course, him leading RR to the title in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2008 was the icing on the cake. At the age of 38, with 19 wickets, he was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
The magic had not faded out. It didn't in 2008 and won't now despite his spell on our planet ending. It will forever be present in the hearts of cricket fans and the memories of those big leg breaks will always bring a smile to our faces.