File photo of Shane Warne.© AFP
Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has heaped praises on spin great Shane Warne and also talked about the equation he had with the late Australian player. Despite playing for different countries, Wasim and Warne were close friends. Warne was a family friend of Akram’s Australian wife Shaniera Thompson. Akram, who married Shaniera in 2013, also revealed that Warne bought a property that belonged to the Pakistan great’s in-laws Tony Thompson and Greta. He added that Warne lived at a close distance to his house.
“Players and leaders like Shane Warne are not born everyday in this world. I knew him personally very well. He used to live just two minutes away from my house. In fact, I’ll tell you another interesting thing. Shane Warne bought his last house from my in-laws – Tony Thompson and Greta. He bought their house,” Akram told Sportskeeda.
It is worth noting that Warne holds the world record of picking second-most wickets in Test cricket. He claimed 708 wickets in 145 matches in the format of the game.
What made him special was some surreal amout of spin Warne extracted from the surface. Facing him was nothing less than a nightmare for many batters.
The spin great, who also led Rajasthan Royals to Indian Premier League title in the inaugural edition in 2008, died in March 2022.
“There was only one Shane Warne. The passion, the knowledge about the game, the involvement in the game, the energy he brought, I don’t think it is easy to match that. If I remember correctly, he even led Rajasthan Royals to the IPL trophy in the inaugural season,” Akram said.
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