Shane Warne looks all set to make his IPL comeback, this time as the mentor of a side. As per a report in Sportstar, Warne is closing in on a deal with Rajasthan Royals – a franchise which he played for in IPL and also led to a title victory in the inaugural edition – and an official announcement regarding the matter might be made by the franchise on Saturday, as per a report in Sportstar,
“He is definitely in talks with Royals but the terms and conditions are being discussed upon now. The deal will be sealed once both parties agree to the terms,” a source told Sportstar.
A few days back, Warne had himself confirmed the news regarding his involvement in IPL when he sent out a tweet from his social media account –
Looking forward to making an announcement to you guys this week which I’m very excited about & yes it involves the #IPL2018 !
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 4, 2018
Rajasthan Royals had recently appointed Zubin Bharucha as their Head of Cricket Operations but Warne would be their biggest appointment of the season.
The former captain of the franchise used to work with the team as captain cum coach, earlier. He was associated with the team from 2008 to 2011.
During his stint, he played a total of 55 games in which he scalped 57 wickets. He also led the team to a title victory in the inaugural edition, which is his biggest feat in IPL.
Should Warne be appointed as the mentor of the franchise, it would be the second biggest appointment in recent days as recently, Mumbai Indians also appointed Lasith Malinga as their bowling consultant.
The 34-year-old bowler went unsold in the IPL auction but is all set to be involved with the T20 league, in a different role.
Rajasthan Royals are yet to announce their batting, bowling and fielding coach too.
The franchise will mark their comeback in the IPL after serving a ban of two years, along with Chennai Super Kings.
The franchise (Rajasthan Royals) made sounds in the IPL auction when it purchased two costliest players in the auction in form of Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat.
The owners had to pay Rs 12.50 Crore to Stokes while Unadkat cost them Rs 11.50 Crore. They also purchased Karnataka all-rounder, Krishnappa Gowtham for a sum of Rs 6.20 Crore.
Rajasthan Royals squad: Steven Smith (Captain), Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D’Arcy Short, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Zahir Khan, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Sudhesan Midhun, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Jatin Saxena, Dushmantha Chameera.
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