Lives of dozens of cricketers have taken major turns after earning hefty Indian Premier League contracts. However, legendary spinner Shane Warne was a rare player who reaped rewards from the biggest T20 tournament across the globe even eight years after playing his last match for inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals.
Advertisement
Warne’s contract with RR was such that he was not just appointed as a captain-cum-coach, but also had a 0.75% stake in the franchise for each season he played in. The league grew leaps and bounds over the years which made Warne eligible to earn around $12 million in 2019.
Shane Warne Was Expected To Receive Around $12 Million From Rajasthan Royals
In addition to be named the captain, he also had the freedom to run the team according to his vision. Having said that, an incident had occurred before the first season leading to Warne threatening to leave the franchise.
Warne represented Royals for four seasons between 2008-2011. At the end of his journey, Warne had a 3% stake in the team. In 2019, the franchise was valued around $200 million. Warne expected this value to double in the next couple of years.
“Three percent of USD 400 million is all right [around $12 million],” Warne was quoted as saying by The Herald Sun.
It is noteworthy that Warne was signed by Rajasthan in IPL 2008 auction for his base price of $400,000. Other than icon players, who were signed directly by the franchises, the rest of the players were part of the auction pool. Readers must note that RR were even fined for not spending a minimum amount of $3 million during the first-ever auction.
Did Shane Warne Come Out Of Retirement To Play In The IPL?
Warne, whose first international match was the New Year’s Test of 1992 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, had last represented Australia during the New Year’s Test in 2007 at the same venue. He, however, came out of retirement to play for the Royals. For doing the same, Warne had earned a stake in addition to his IPL salary.
Following multiple IPL stints, Warne also joined home team Melbourne Stars as a marquee player in the inaugural Big Bash League season in 2011/12.
Even during the later stages of his career, Warne was aggressive on the field. His on-field spat with Marlon Samuels in the BBL is still remembered by many. He finally hung his boots after playing BBL 2012-13.
“I think the time is right for me to hang up my Big Bash boots – juggling business, family and commentary commitments across two continents is not easy,” Warne was quoted by Fox Cricket.
In spite of international retirement, Warne had an enjoyable ride in the shortest format of the game. In the IPL, he scalped 57 wickets in 55 matches at an economy rate of 7.27. Talking about the BBL, he took 11 wickets in 15 matches.
