The blonde bombshell, who made leg spin look ‘sexy’!

13th September 1969 would go down as a day of blessing not just for Australia, but also for cricket. Shane Keith Warne was born.

To thrive in a country which frowns at spin bowling and yet going on to arguably become the world’s greatest spinner of all time, is no mean achievement. Plus, mastering leg spin is tougher than mastering off spin. In his very first year of international cricket, he made headlines for bowling the ‘Ball of the Century’ to a stunned Mike Gatting in Manchester!

Despite his unpleasant off the field antics and an unstable personal life, Warne was always the go-to bowler for his captain whether it was Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting since he enabled them to make out of the box, bold decisions to surprise the opponent.

Tactically, there was no one better than Warne when it comes to foxing the batsman. Daryl Cullinan of South Africa knows this better than anyone else! To play him, one needed optimism and aggression, not just good defensive technique. This explains why players such as Salim Malik, Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen are the only three who have dominated him.
India was Warne’s main nemesis, which he only conquered in 2004. But otherwise, he has always been the most impactful of Australia’s bowlers in all parts of the world and the main reason why they won everywhere, dominating world cricket from 1997-2007 until he called it quits.

He could make Australia win from even the most disastrous of positions, making him a true hero. This is because he had the mentality of winning and looking forward, not fearing to lose or the past. If it was not for his differences with the authorities or teammates and his controversies, he may have been the best captain Australia ever had.

Muralitharan was questioned for his action, Kumble was not that a big turner of the ball. Both were from the subcontinent and were more comfortable in performing well in their own backyard. But Warne is a one in a million, proving that spin is a magical art which can be performed anywhere in the world, if you have self-belief and proactivity in your armoury.

He proved that language and heterogeneity are no obstacles in the way of playing cricket. He nurtured young Indian talent in the IPL after his international retirement; captaining an underdog Rajasthan Royals team outstandingly, to a fairy tale championship victory in the inaugural season of the tournament.

Players such as Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan are what they are today because of this man and it is his vision that has made the team have a solid fan base till date.