Publish Date: | Sat, 05 Mar 2022 11:58 AM (IST)
Indore, New Dunia Rep. Shane Warne’s ball, which entangled the batsmen of the world in his spin, brought a message of happiness for Indore 21 years ago. When this black stain was removed from Indore, facing international ban, in March 2001, the first match was held between the legendary teams of India and Australia at the Nehru Stadium. In this match, the magic balls of Warne bowed to the soil of Malwa. In this match, Sachin Tendulkar also touched the peak of 10,000 ODI runs.
The Indore cricketers are also speechless and saddened by Warne’s sudden demise on Friday. Sanjay Jagdale, former secretary of BCCI, says, ‘Indore was banned by the ICC. When this ban was lifted after four years, the legendary team of Australia came here to play. The match was then held at the Nehru Stadium in Indore with a tent. Warne was also in that team. Then I was the secretary of MP Cricket Organization. Warne used to meet everyone very politely. I remember the match between Australia and the Board President’s XI took place in Delhi on this tour. Narendra Hirwani of Indore also played in that match and Warne used to watch his balls on TV very seriously. At that time, life was not being made for him and therefore lived with a little detachment from the team. I consider him the best spinner of all time.
It is noteworthy that Sachin played an innings of 139 runs in Indore and India won the match by 118 runs. The batsmen might have faltered in front of Warne’s balls, but they were ineffective in front of the Indian batsmen on Holkar’s land. He didn’t get any wicket. After this, he came to Indore with the Rajasthan Royals team in the year 2010 during the IPL.
Practice, practice and practice…
Former Indian batsman Amay Khurasia told that I played against Warne for the Board President’s XI in Visakhapatnam. He was a very humble person. I asked him how does your spin deliver so much power? He replied, ‘Practice, practice and practice…’. Whenever he met Indians, he used to greet in English with folded hands. He had amazing self-confidence and used to talk without any lameness.
Warne carried forward Naman’s career
Former international cricketer Naman Ojha told that my first captain in IPL was Shane Warne. He gave me a lot of opportunities and guidance in the Rajasthan Royals team. He was a lively person and lived like friends on and off the field. His knowledge of the game was amazing. I used to consult him many times.
Posted By: Sameer Deshpande