Test great Brian Lara recalled his memories of spin great Shane Warne who passed away on March 4 and called him 'a positive influence'.
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Shane Warne left a large vacuum in the lives of one and all as he breathed his last on March 4 at the Thai resort island of Koh Samui. Autopsy results confirmed the death was due to natural causes with no signs of foul play. His body was taken to the mainland city of Surat Thani on Sunday via a ferry and transported to Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, on Monday night before being prepared to fly home to Melbourne.
The spin great will be given a state funeral on March 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and fans and celebrities will be allowed to give him a last visit. Recalling Warne as someone who was a fierce rival on pitch and a great friend of it, Test great Brian Lara said that the spin great had a positive influence on the lives of people.
“It is an enormous blow,” Lara told Sportstar.
“He is the greatest leg-spinner ever. Facing him was a challenge. We’ve been involved in some fascinating duels. But after the day’s play, he would leave everything behind and have a drink with you. As a commentator, he articulated the right issues. His influence was positive wherever he went. A tragic loss.”
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Lara has taken up the role of strategic advisor and batting coach for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2022. He will unite with his former rival and Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan, serving as strategy and spin bowling coach, for the Hyderabad-franchise.
“Murali is a very friendly person and we met at several events. As a bowler, he had so many tricks. When I made all those runs in Sri Lanka, I played him according to the length, rotated the strike and came down the track only when I was sure. It will be great working together,” Lara said.
Rohit Sharma made a bright start to his full-time captaincy stint for the Indian cricket team after taking over the reins from his compatriot Virat Kohli. Under his captaincy, India clean swept the Test series against Sri Lanka besides winning in the limited-overs format over the island nation, New Zealand and the West Indies.
And Lara believes that India is the side to beat while tagging the Mumbaikar as a good captain.
“India has a very good team now, irrespective of who is leading the side. To beat Australia in Australia and win the decider with a second or third side speaks much about India’s bench strength and the kind of pacemen it now has. Rohit appears to be a good captain with a cool head with the respect of all players including Kohli.”
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