The cricketing world is yet to come to terms with the sudden passing away of Shane Warne, who developed a cult-like status because of his personality and deeds on the cricketing field. Australian cricket, in particular, suffered a double blow on Friday, first with the demise of wicketkeeping ace Rodney Marsh and then Warne later in the day.
Warne’s influence on young cricketers was huge that they owe a part of their success to the 52-year-old Victorian who collapsed to heart attack while holidaying in Thailand.
Warne’s team-mates at Rajasthan Royals in its successful IPL campaign in the inaugural edition, pace bowlers, Gujarat’s Siddharth Trivedi and Rajasthan’s Pankaj Singh, and a member of the squad in its second season, Raiphi Vincent Gomez of Kerala told news18.com high the lasting impressions Warne has left on their lives.
Trivedi, 39-year-old former right-arm pacer who is currently a professional coach in India and in the US and also plays in minor leagues overseas, said that Warne considered him as a younger brother.
WARNE WAS SO DOWN TO EARTH: TRIVEDI
Trivedi said: “We all have grown up seeing Warne, the way he turned on Australian pitches and all over the world. When I first came to know I was going to be with Rajasthan Royals and Shane Warne was going to be the captain, I was excited. He was like a mentor to me. Under him, I grew as a bowler. He gave me the confidence that I had more cricket left in me. Our on-field communications helped me a lot. For the entire 5 years that I played under him, every single day, I learnt a lot as to how to prepare, what the routines were like, etc. I was quite close to him. He used to even share his life-struggling stories with me. He used to consider me as his younger brother.
“Before actually meeting Warne, I had the impression that he’d be like a superstar and how I’d interact with him. I had the apprehensions as to how he’d treating me. You can say I was nervous. But when we met, he came across as just another cricketer. There was no airs about him being a superstar. He was so down to earth, as if we knew each other for long. He never showed attitude. His interactions with all the domestic cricketers motivated them. There was no way he yelled at us or made us uncomfortable. That was the best quality in him. In the first IPL, we were the underdogs, but we ended up being the champions. The culture within the team he developed, he made each to perform o his best. He had the capability to bring the best out of everyone.”
Trivedi, who played in 76 IPL matches, all for RR from 2008 to 2013 and took 65 wickets, said Warne encouraged the bowlers to have their own fields, and yet had Plans B and C if Plan A did not work. Trivedi said: “Bowlers have their own plans. During practice, he used to hear me out the plans I had for a particular team and he used to back me lot. During a game, whatever plans you have, not always do you get them right. He always had Plans B and C also. Our on-field communications helped me a lot. Even in practice, we used to keep the communication going.
“He’d also give feedback and suggestions. Each practice session was so interactive that there was a stage when I felt that I was not playing in an intense IPL match but in a club game. That was how well the preparations were. I was not scared that I was bowling to the world’s top batsmen and I was confident. My performances speak for themselves.”
Trivedi idolised on Warne’s Australian team-mate, Glenn McGrath. Trivedi said: “Before the IPL final in 2008, there was this get together. McGrath was with Delhi Daredevils then. I requested Warne at the function that I’d like to meet McGrath and that he was my idol and I tried to copy him regarding line and length. In no time, Warne took me to McGrath and I had a good five to 10 minutes chat with McGrath.”
‘I OWE A LOT TO WARNE’
Trivedi kept in touch regularly with Warne even during the pandemic. “On and off during the pandemic, I used to text him. He did reply occasionally. That was the best part. Despite being out of Royals for a long time, he still kept in touch with his old teammates. Even regarding coaching that I do or for any personal problems, I used to talk to him and he’d speak irrespective of the time, whether day or night. I am devastated hearing this news that Warne is no more and can’t believe this has happened.
“He was the person who spotted the talent in me, which I also did not know I had one. Because of him, I can say that I have a name now and people appreciate me and my performances for RR even to this day. Credit goes to Warne for making me learn many things and showing that I was the best. It’s because of Warne that I know a lot more about cricket, myself. Whatever I am today, I owe a major part to Warne. Now I am into professional coaching, a lot of learning from him and my experiences, I share with the youngsters. I try to put into action some of the learnings that I received from him.”
HE TURNED THE TEAM’S WEAKNESSES INTO STRENGTHS: PANKAJ SINGH
Trivedi’s team-mate in 2008 with RR and former India pacer, Pankaj Singh is still to recover from the shocking news of Warne’s demise.
“Like it is for everyone, it is a shock for me. It is a big loss for cricket,” Singh said from Jaipur. “I have learnt a lot from him. Everybody thought we were the weakest team in IPL 2008. The way he led that year, he was the only foreign captain in IPL, and he had a lot of challenges. He overcame them. He did not think about the weaknesses in the team. The way he worked on the team members who were not known at all and who were not big in stature, he turned them into his strengths. The opponents had no idea of our players. Warne had surprises for the opponents. The way he masterminded the opening combination of Graeme Smith and little-known Swapnil Asnodkar, having the confidence in Ravindra Jadeja and Siddharth Trivedi, how he used little-known players effectively spoke of how smart he was as a captain. He was intelligent on the ground. His behaviour, approach, body language were all positive. He always stressed on having a positive body language on the field. He always talked to the batters and bowlers and made them comfortable. He believed in the fact that when the bowler has the ball in hand, the batsman should judge from the body language that the bowler is out there to get him out. These are the things I learnt from him, and the results are there for everyone to see. He told me to bowl to my strengths and not to try to be someone else. He said everyone had his own ways of doing and that one should not try too much but to bowl to the strengths.”
Singh said that Warne stressed on giving your 100% on the field. Something that even Trivedi seconded. “He was very aggressive on the field. When you enter the ground, you give your 100% and the results took care of themselves. Warne was of this belief. And, when you left the ground, he wanted nobody to carry the burden with them,” said Singh adding that Warne gave equal opportunities to everyone and that they were all equal to the best. “On the field, gave his 100%. And off it, he lived life to its fullest,” said Singh.
HE HAD POSITIVE ENERGY IN HIM: GOMEZ
Kerala’s Gomez was unfortunate not to play alongside Warne in IPL but was fortunate to become a better batsman in the RR camp in South Africa before the start of IPL 2009. Gomez, now a personal coach who helps among other players, Sanju Samson, the current captain of Rajasthan Royals, said: “He always carried positive vibes. The environment was different when he was around, pumped up with energy. We get energy from each and every one we meet, and Warne had that positive energy around him always.”
Gomez remembered the days when he faced Warne in the RR nets and was richer by the experience. “When he is bowling, you could see the body language, that of not just running in to bowl but to give the batsman a scare with his aggression. It was a dream-come-true situation for me facing him in the nets. The kind of variations he used, he read the batsmen’s minds even in the nets. That made it difficult for the batsmen. Even if you hit him for a four or a six, he did not mind. He gave one for the batsman and created an atmosphere to get the batsmen out. He was always on top of the batsman’s mind. The experience he had, he knew exactly what the batsmen did. I was very excited playing Warne in the nets. He always encouraged the players to do better. He got everyone together to gel as a team. He had that guiding ability and the team gelled together. That was the reason for RR’s success in 2008,” said the 36-year-old former Kerala batsman who played Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors in 2011 and 2013, respectively.
Gomez summed up the sentiments of many cricket lovers aptly: “An era has come to an end. But the impact Warne has left behind will be an inspiration and an encouragement for the future.”
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