Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting condoled the passing of his teammate Shane Warne, calling him the best bowler he had seen.
Warne unfortunately breathed his last on Friday evening in Thailand, aged 52.
"Hard to put this into words. I first met him when I was 15 at the Academy. He gave me my nickname. We were teammates for more than a decade, riding all the highs and lows together. Through it all he was someone you could always count on, someone who loved his family," tweeted Ponting.
"Someone who would be there for you when you needed him and always put his mates first. The greatest bowler I ever played with or against. RIP King. My thoughts are with Keith, Bridgette, Jason, Brooke, Jackson and Summer," he added.
The former captain also broke down while speaking about Warne and said it would take time for it to sink in. "I have had a few hours now to digest it all and think about how big a part of my life he was and reflect on a lot of those memories," Ponting said.
Warne was one of the most influential cricketers and is credited to have single-handedly revived the art of bowling leg-spin. In a career that spanned over 15 years, Warne picked more than 1,000 wickets in international cricket.
The ace spinner was also central to Australia’s World Cup winning campaign in 1999 in United Kingdom, finishing with the player of the match awards in the semi-final and final as well. Warne had also captained Australia in 11 ODIs and won 10 of them.
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