Former Australian cricketer Shane Warne has died due to a suspected heart attack. He was 52.
In a statement, Warner's management said that the legendary leg-spinner was found unresponsive in his villa in Koh Samui, Thailand.
"Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course," the statement read.
Warne is the second former Australian cricketer to die on March 4 after wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh died in a hospital in Adelaide. The 74-year-old had been in an induced coma after suffering a heart attack last week.
Widely considered to be one of the best bowlers cricket has ever known, Warne was part of the golden generation of Australian men's cricket which dominated the game in the the 90s and 2000s.
Warner made his Australia debut in 1992 and went on to play 145 Tests and 194 One-Day Internationals. With 708 wickets, Warne is the second-highest wicket taker in men's Test cricket history only behind his great rival, Muttiah Muralitharan who took 800 wickets.
In his first ever ball in an Ashes series in 1993, Warner bowled, what has been called the ball of the century, to dismiss Mike Gatting. Warne was the highest-wicket taker in the series as Australia took home the Ashes.
Warne was at his best against England and in 36 Test matches, he notched 195 wickets — an Ashes record. Only two players have won more Ashes series than Warner's seven.
Warne was part of the Australian team which won the men's cricket World Cup in 1999 where he picked up a joint-highest 20 wickets. However, he missed out on Australia's 2003 World Cup win after testing positive for a banned drug days before the tournament began.
Warne was handed a one-year suspension and the bowler decided to retire from ODIs to prolong his Test career. In 194 ODIs, Warne picked 293 wickets.
Warne retired from international cricket in 2007 and ended his career by picking up his 1000th international wicket and winning his seventh Ashes series.
After retiring, Warne signed up for the Indian Premier League and was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in the auction. Warne captained the Royals to an unlikely IPL title as they beat the fancied Chennai Super Kings in the final.
In 2017, Warne was named in the best Australian Ashes XI for the last 40 years. In 2013, he was included in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack all-time Test XI alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Donald Bradman, Gary Sobers and Wasim Akram.
