Shane Warne and Rajasthan Royals had a special connection, and it was proved in the inaugural season of the campaign. In IPL 2008, none gave any kind of chance to the Rajasthan Royals, but they surprised everyone and took the cup home under the leadership of the legendary Australian leg-spinner.
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Even after his retirement from the game, Warne was closely related to Rajasthan Royals in some or other kind of role. During the IPL 2018, he was the mentor of the side. It is often said that Warne was one of the best readers of the game, and Jos Buttler once revealed one such incident during the IPL 2018 season.
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Rajasthan Royals were up against Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Chennai Super Kings scored 176-4 in the 1st innings, and the Royals had a tough score to achieve. Moreover, Ben Stokes injured his hamstring as well. Warne then took a gamble to utilize the strength of Stokes.
Jos Buttler once revealed how Shane Warne made an injured Ben Stokes open the innings
Jos Buttler had once revealed that it was Warne’s decision to let Ben Stokes open the innings with him as it was clear that Stokes would not be able to run in the middle overs due to his hamstring injury. Warne wanted Stokes to take use of the powerplay overs by his clean hitting. Buttler called Warne a ‘proactive’ guy for the same.
The experiment failed as Stokes could just score 11 runs in 7 balls, but Buttler insisted that only a guy like Warne can think out of the box and take chances like these. Buttler believes that Warne’s understanding of next to none as he used to help the batters in selecting a particular bowler to target as well.
“Shane Warne sort of said why don’t you go at the top and play with some freedom and try and see if that comes off because he felt like he was going to find it hard in the middle with his running,” said Buttler to the host broadcaster.
“His brain for cricket is not like anyone I’ve met before, the way he thinks about the game, and the ideas he comes up with. It’s been very thought-provoking, listening to him.”
Stokes failed in the match, but the Royals successfully chased the target of 177 runs with 4 wickets to spare. Buttler played an excellent knock of 95* runs in 60 balls and was there till the end to ensure a victory for his side.
