IPL 2018: Shane Warne to miss KKR encounter; will rejoin team for the Final

As Rajasthan takes the field on Wednesday to face off against Kolkata Knight Riders in the elimination round of the Indian Premier League, they will be missing their mentor, the former Aussie legend Shane Warne who due to some technical issues will not be able to join the side to guide them in the all-important fixture.

Earlier, after beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Ajinkya Rahane led-side which made their re-entry to the tournament after facing the 2-year suspension had kept their playoff hopes alive. Mumbai Indians’ batsmen put on a horrendous show against last-ranked Delhi Daredevils which helped the Royals go through and finish at the number 4 spot of the 2018-edition of the tournament.

Warne who had led the side to the title in the inaugural edition of the tournament was appointed as the mentor of the side. Interestingly, Warne had left the team mid-way for some work and had flown to Australia. He returned to join the team after missing three games. Warne made another exit from the tournament last week when he joined the birthday celebrations of his son and daughter in Australia. However, the former leggie was expected to join the team ahead of their clash against Dinesh Karthik-led KKR.

Optimistic Warne

However, on Tuesday, the 48-year spin wizard via social media platform Twitter announced that he won’t be able to join the team for the match against the KKR. Warne optimistically added that he will join the side in the finals of the tournament. Warned wished the team good luck for the match on Wednesday and eventually suggesting that they will win the game on Wednesday and play the winner of Qualifier 1 in the finals.

Royals had suffered a loss during their last league game as well when English players Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes had left the side to join the national Test side for their encounter against Pakistan. The team didn’t miss the services of the two against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. It will be interesting to see if the side will miss the advice of their mentor or they will manage to go through to the finals where the 48-year old join them back.

Here’s his tweet

Good luck to the @rajasthanroyals in the play offs. Apologies I can’t be there with you on Wednesday & Friday, but will see you Sunday for the final. Remember the things we’ve spoken about re playing finals / big games – you’re ready & I’m so proud of you all. You’ve got this 👍

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) May 22, 2018

[interaction id=”5b02c0f281387e8e8e527217″]

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.