Shane Warne Was An Incredible Leader, Believed In His Players: Shane Watson

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said that the late Shane Warne was an incredible leader who knew how to assess and bring out the best version of a player. Watson and Warne played together for three years in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from IPL 2008-2010. Warne even led the Rajasthan side to its only IPL title in the inaugural edition.

However, the mercurial spinner passed away on March 4 at the age of 52 while vacationing in Thailand. He was still working with the Rajasthan Royals franchise as their mentor.

Shane Watson, who made a huge name for himself in the IPL 2008 and was the first-ever Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Indian Premier League history, helping the RR team lift the inaugural IPL title, paid rich tributes to Shane Warne.

He Believed In The Players, Knew Their Skill Set: Shane Watson Lauds Shane Warne’s Captaincy For Rajasthan Royals In IPL 2008

Rajasthan Royals were the cheapest franchise in the inaugural IPL 2008 auction. They had approached Shane Warne, who had retired from international cricket to be their captain and coach and the Australian leg-spinner took the opportunity.

Shane Watson was eager to re-establish himself in the Australian team and IPL 2008 proved to be crucial for that as he made 472 runs and picked 17 wickets for the eventual winners. Speaking on Shane Warne’s leadership, Watson, said during a Delhi Capitals virtual press conference:

“The thing that stood out for me was that Rajasthan were written off because we didn’t have big names as compared to the other teams. The advantage that Rajasthan had was the ability to pull the team together very quickly.

The incredible skill that Shane Warne had was seeing what people’s roles were and then tapping into that role. For me, that was why he was an incredible leader, because he knew how to tap into a player’s best version. He believed in the players, knew their skill set and where they fit in. For me, that’s why Rajasthan did so well in the first season. He pulled all these from different cultures and different phases of their careers and led from the front.”

Shane Warne had an amazing career and is credited with resurrecting the art of leg-spin in international cricket. He picked 708 wickets in 145 Tests and 293 wickets in 194 ODIs for Australia from 1992-2007.

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