He could make the ball turn as he wanted. Mike Gatting probably was not aware of it when he fell victim to Shane Warne's famous 'ball of the century' during the second day of the first Ashes Test in 1993, Manchester. Just as Gatting stood in disbelief that day, wondering how the ball turned sharply from pitching on leg stump to clipping the off-stump, Warne has left cricket fans shocked and stunned with his untimely demise at just 52 years of age, on Friday, March 4. Shane Warne Dead: Sachin Tendulkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Other Indian Cricket Stars React After Sudden Demise of Legendary Spinner

Not just for his exploits for Australia over the years but Warne too had a telling impact on Indian cricket. As many would be aware, the famous T20 World Cup title win in 2007 sparked off a revolution in Indian cricket, with the IPL being held a year later. The inaugural edition of the T20 tournament--which is one of the best and biggest today--had a lot of expectations from fans all over the world and frankly, it didn't disappoint. While other teams were stacking up star cricketers in their ranks, it was Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals, who eventually pulled off the title victory in the end, with a team that was considered to be underdogs on paper. With Warne's charismatic leadership and energy, a young team found purpose and played like champions, all the way from the start to the title.

Warne harnessed a lot of Indian talent in that Rajasthan Royals squad of 2008, some of them going on to become world-beaters. The most famous of them all is Ravindra Jadeja, affectionately called 'rockstar' by Warne. Warne was one of the first few who spotted the 20-year Jadeja as a future star in Indian cricket (hence the nickname) and the young player made the most of that faith shown in him by the Australian legend to become the cricketer he is today. Warne's trust in Jaddu, has paid off. Shane Warne Last Tweet: Former Cricketer Tweeted About Rod Marsh's Death Hours Before Passing Away

Yusuf Pathan was another player who played a very crucial role in Warne's Rajasthan Royals winning the IPL title in its very first season. The right-hander from Baroda made a name for himself in that inaugural IPL season with his ability to score quick runs and clear the fence at will and with ease. And how can we forget Munaf Patel? The right-arm fast bowler, who was a highly underrated cricketer, also played an important role in Rajasthan's success in the inaugural IPL season. Patel and Pathan would go on to win the World Cup for India three years later. With not-so-big names, the story of Warne winning the inaugural IPL edition with a relatively underdog team would go down as one of the best in Indian cricket. And thanks to him, Indian cricket could uncover these gems, who would go on to win many matches for the country.

Even when he quit playing cricket, Warne was an avid admirer of former Test captain Virat Kohli and his contribution to the longest format of the game. Warne was quoted on air saying, "Long live Test cricket while we have Virat Kohli." Kohli often showed the belief in his team much like Warne did with Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and it's indeed sad and shocking to see him pass away on a day when the Indian great played his 100th Test match.

Perhaps it would take quite a while for cricket fans all over the globe to digest, or even process the fact that Shane Warne is no more. The former Australian leg-spinner is reckoned as one of the best to have ever graced the game of cricket, and to think of him not being there is in itself a predicament. A crowd-puller, entertainer and an inspiration to many--there wouldn't be a second Warne. The cricket world has 'stopped spinning' with his untimely and shocking death.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2022 09:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).