Shane Warne - lived and played as he wanted to

In the 1990s, the Indian Test team were usually poor travellers. Abroad tours were a nightmare and we neither had the belief nor the technique to counter the bouncy wickets in Australia. The 1991-92 tour was no different. The one game where we competed well was the 3rd test at Sydney [and the 4th at Adelaide too], where Shane Warne made his debut. I remember it well, primarily because Tendulkar played a classy 148*, thereby initiating a beautiful love affair with the SCG.

My brother and I were left wondering how did he even qualify to play for Australia. He looked innocuous. Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar helped themselves to big hundreds. While the Indian team handled Shane Warne fairly comfortably in the next 15 years, many other teams were made to play to his tunes. But Shane Warne was not just about his cricketing skills.

He was a rockstar from every angle. He was the ultimate showman who oozed confidence in every move on the cricket field. The expression he offered at the end of his follow through indicated he should have had a wicket off every delivery he bowled. He setup batsmen as only he could have done. He played on batsmen's minds, creating doubts from all over. Very few of his long hops and full toss deliveries would have been unplanned. He always knew what he was doing. Not while batting though - he holed out to deep midwicket when he was on 99 in a Test match against New Zealand. I watched the game LIVE on TV. He never again got that far.

Warnie put his hands up whenever Australia needed a hero to turn things around - the two world cup semi-finals spells are a testament. Both the games were snatched from the jaws of defeat, with Warne playing a huge role. While his ODI record was phenomenal, Shane Warne was born for Test Cricket - Ashes cricket to be precise. His first Ashes delivery has been unanimously spoken as the ball of the century - However, his best according to me was the 40 wickets he took in the only Ashes series he lost. I watched every innings and remember almost all of them. Though he would have been happier had he grabbed this catch off Kevin Pietersen in the final test and had he not trodden onto his wickets when England were losing hope at Edgbaston.

"The greatest captain Australia never had" - Having to play with Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting for most of his career, Warne never had the opportunity to lead Australia on a full-time basis. Remained a regret till the end.

However, in the inaugural IPL 2008, Warnie won the tournament with a group of unknowns and shrewd buys, through his inspirational captaincy for the Rajasthan Royals. While the CSK defeat did break my heart, when I look back, I'm glad Shane Warne was able to show what he can do as a skipper. He created IPL legacy at the first attempt possible.

He didn't have a Googly they said - but he never needed one. He bamboozled batsmen with his variety, control, usage of the rough and clarity of thought. He provided an all-new definition to the art of leg spin bowling. He was almost the first one to prove a spinner's worth in the one day game.

The Shane Warne journey is impossible to be covered in a single article. World Cricket was blessed with the phenomena called Warnie and is definitely poorer with his loss. A journey is truly brutally cut short since he had so much to offer to the game as a commentator and a coach.

Good Bye and Rest in Peace, Shane Keith Warne. You filled us with joy every time you took to the field and I'm sure that was your motive when you started playing the game! Just like many other sporting greats, you came with your own flaws. But your charisma and upfront nature pushed everything to the backseat. I feel fortunate to have followed the whole career of yours!

A good friend of mine took a hat-trick the next day after you left the world - this was in the tennis ball cricket we play on Saturdays. All three were orthodox leg break deliveries. That achievement should go as a dedication to you - one leg spinner to another, the level of cricket becomes immaterial to me.