'Only a captain like him can win title with a few resources' - Yusuf Pathan heaps praise on Shane Warne's leadership skills in IPL

Shane Warne is probably regarded as one of the finest leg-spinners to have braced the game. And, the 50-year-old’s record speaks for the class which he possessed. In an illustrious international career, Warne scalped 708 wickets in Tests while 293 wickets in ODIs. He etched many records to his name through his variations and his exemplary spells in Tests as well as ODIs.

Warne’s one more achievement was to steer a relatively inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to the trophy in the first-ever IPL season. Royals, who were regarded as the underdogs of the competition, stunned everyone to clinch the IPL trophy in 2008. And, many people believe that it was Shane Warne’s on-field presence and leadership skills which played a crucial role in the franchise’s success.

Yusuf Pathan, who was also a part of the Royals squad which clinched the IPL trophy in 2008, heaped praise on Warne’s captaincy in an Instagram live session. The Baroda all-rounder was involved in a live session with CricTracker where he answered a plethora of questions.

While lauding Warne’s leadership, Yusuf said that only a skipper like Warne could have steered Royals to the IPL title. The explosive batsman said that he had the privilege to play under Warne for three years and he reminisced many memories with the leg spinner. According to Yusuf, the Australian legend used to guide the team about how to dismiss batsmen well before the game.

‘I played for three years under Warne’: Yusuf Pathan

“I played for three years under Shane Warne in IPL. There are many memories with him. He used to guide us how to dismiss batsmen well before the game and we used to implement them and batsmen used to get out in a similar fashion,” said Yusuf Pathan during the live session.

Yusuf also considered himself unfortunate to play under Warne only for three years. Considering the domestic players, less international stars and limited resources, Warne did an exceptional job in the inaugural season of the IPL.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t play for more than three years under him. Without any big players, he took our team to the final and won the title in the inaugural edition, there were many domestic players and less international stars during that time in RR. Only a captain like him can win the title with a few resources around,” added Yusuf.

Warne played in the IPL until 2011 and he scalped 57 wickets in 55 matches along the course his IPL journey. The leg-spinner also has a four-wicket haul in IPL under his belt. Moreover, Warne’s performance in the inaugural season was exceptional as he scalped 19 wickets in 15 matches including the best figures of 3/19.