‘His bowling will continue to inspire generations’

The current generation of youngsters may have not witnessed Shane Warne, who retired from cricket in 2007 after cementing himself as the greatest leg-spinner in cricketing history, but his legacy and aura are things that cannot be ignored.

The news that the 'King of Spin' was found dead at his Villa in Thailand on March 4 at the age of just 52 shocked everyone. But while he may have left sooner than anticipated, he influenced innumerable youngsters to chance their arm across the world and an example of his impact can be seen in the cricket academies in Dhaka.

16-year-old Rafin Ahmed is one of those examples. He joined Ankur Cricketers Academy at the Abahani Club ground in Dhanmondi under former Bangladesh leg spinner and prominent coach Wahidul Gani.

"I never watched Warne play live because he had retired from international cricket when I was one or two years old. But since I have been following cricket since childhood, I used to hear a lot about him. I developed an interest in his bowling. I started to watch his old matches on YouTube and it was love at first sight. I decided to become a leg-spinner right away," Rafin said.

Another example of the legacy that Warne left behind could be observed at the outer nets of the Abahani ground, where a youngster was bowling leggies with an action identical to Warne's. That young man was Asif Alam, who plays first division cricket and dreams of representing Bangladesh given the fact that the national team is in desperate search for a leg-spinner.

"I dream of representing the national team because we have been searching for a leg-spinner. I want to be someone like Shane Warne, who changed the dimensions and the art of leg-spin. It is outstanding how he made everyone fall in love with this art. I was amazed to see the 'ball of the century' from Warne. Since then I have always wanted to bowl like him," Asif said.

Wahidul is one of the very few specialist leg-spin coaches in Bangladesh and has been coaching for over three decades now. The veteran informed that many parents had come to him over the years urging him to groom their child as the next Warne.

"Leg-spin is a difficult art to be honest and it's tough to master. Although the new generation may have not seen Warne during his playing days, there was a time when many youngsters were keen to become leg-spinners after watching the Australian great. Warne left a lasting legacy and I think even though he is no longer with us, his bowling will continue to inspire many more generations in the coming days," said Wahidul.