“I don’t think there’s been too many better teams that I’ve played in”: When Shane Warne called Rajasthan Royals as one of the best teams he has played in

After winning the IPL 2008 with the Royals, Shane Warne lauded Rajasthan Royals as one of the best teams he has played in.

The news of the demise of Shane Warne has shocked the whole cricketing world. Shane Warne was arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He was the first bowler in the world to claim 700 test wickets. He ended his career with 708 test wickets, whereas he has 293 ODI wickets under his belt. Warne also bowled the “Ball of the Century” in the 1993 Ashes.

Apart from his on-field records, Warne has had a lot of controversies throughout his career. He failed the drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Warne even passed on the critical information to a bookmaker about the game.

He has also been in a rift with Muttiah Muralitharan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh.  Despite all the off-field controversies, Warne is hugely admired in the cricketing circuit.

Shane Warne lauds Rajasthan Royals after winning IPL 2008

When IPL was started in 2008, the teams stacked some star players in their ranks. However, Rajasthan Royals spent the least in the auction, they were considered the underdogs. The Royals had a clear plan of having Shane Warne in their team, and they bought him for a price of $450,000.

Ahead of the tournament, none gave Rajasthan Royals a chance, and they lost their first game convincingly against Delhi Daredevils. Although the best of Rajasthan was yet to come, they finished the league stages as the table-toppers. In the semi-finals, the Royals defeated Delhi Daredevils to reach the finals.

In the final game against Chennai Super Kings, Yusuf Pathan was at his best. He scalped three wickets in his bowling, whereas he scored a brilliant half-century with the bat as well. In the end, Sohail Tanvir took the winning runs for the Royals and Shane Warne was at the nonstriking end.

1st June 2008 1st #IPLfinal What a night! What a match! @ShaneWarne was terrific that night. Salute Indian fan 4making @IPL #India ‘s pride pic.twitter.com/cEnrq7EueD

— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) June 1, 2017

After the game, Warne said that Rajasthan Royals is one of the best teams he has even been a part of.

“I don’t think there’s been too many better teams that I’ve played in during my career,” Shane Warne said after the game.

“As soon as Tanvir hit the ball I was ready to tear my hamstrings running for the single.”

Even after completing his playing career, Shane Warne was connected with the Royals as their brand ambassador or mentor. Before their first IPL 2022 game, Rajasthan Royals did remember Shane Warne before handing the caps to the debutants.