This would be a huge loss not only to Rajasthan Royals, but to the IPL, which has just begun to gain global attention. In the inaugural IPL, Warne led a league of ordinary men to the tournament victory beating star-studded teams like the Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils before overpowering the Chennai Super Kings in the finals.
Shane Warne motivated, guided and mentored his players, bringing the best out of them. He identified horses for courses and manufactured superstars like Yousuf Pathan. The stint with Warne helped players like Shane Watson cement their place in the national side. Warne, however, couldn’t repeat his magic in the second and third editions, with his team exiting the tourney without making it to the semi-finals.
Yet, Warne showed the world glimpses of what he can do. “Wanna create history boys?” were Warne's words to his batsmen after the Chennai Super Kings battered Rajasthan Royals bowlers to score 246 off 20 overs. The result, the Royals waged a brave battle and scored 223/5 when most teams would have faltered even before reaching half the score. He set extraordinary fields and started the trend of spinners opening the bowling.
It’s not the Rainas, Sharmas or Symonds that are the crowd favorites and behind the stupendous success of IPL, but old horses like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly, and pensioners like Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.
If others decide to follow suit, Muralitharan, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden could well be the next big guns to exit the premier league. All the three have been victims of indifferent form this season, though their teams have reached semi-finals.
For now, we keep our fingers crossed and hope these big boys return for the next IPL.
PS: Go Chargers!
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