Australian cricket icon Shane Warne passed away at the age of 52 on Friday. According to the cricketer's management, Warne died of a suspected heart attack on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand, where he was reportedly on a vacation.
"Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived", the Aussie spinner's management said in a statement released to the country's media. "The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course", the statement added.
Warne featured in 145 Test matches and 194 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for the Kangaroos from 1992 to 2007, taking more than 1,000 wickets across the two formats of the game during his glittering career.
However, he's best known for bowling the "Ball of the century" to England batsman Mike Gatting during the 1993 Ashes in England, eventually earning him the moniker of the "spin wizard".
"Warnie", as he was nicknamed, remained extremely popular even after retirement as he became a highly decorated commentator and cricket expert, commenting and writing about the game in various newspapers across the globe.