‘I am injured but I should be fine’: Tendulkar reveals details of ‘last message’ to Warne; ‘I said hope you are okay’ | Cricket

The great Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to Australian spin great Shane Warne, who died from a heart attack aged 52 earlier this month. Tendulkar and Warne shared a number of great battles on the pitch and were known to share a friendship and respect for each other off the field, which continued for long after the pair ended their illustrious playing careers.

Tendulkar, 48, said that he had last met Warne in London after the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League.

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“After the last IPL, I went to England to spend some time in London where we got in touch with each other and also planned a round of Golf. It was fun. When Shane was around, there was not a dull moment. He was full of entertainment and jokes and those mini battles that we had, I realise it was not just the spin but also the swing that came naturally to him. He was a good golfer. I hate saying he was because we have to accept what has happened. For us, he will continue to live in our hearts,” said Tendulkar in a video posted on his YouTube channel and 100MB app.

Tendulkar features in the video with fellow batting great Brian Lara, who himself had a number of memorable battles with Warne.

“I enjoyed physically meeting him in London but even post that, I remember my last message to him was when he met with a bike accident. I said hope you are okay, everything is fine? He said no I just took my bike out for a spin and it skidded and I am injured but I should be fine. So my response to that was – you could spin the ball the way you wanted to but taking out your bike for a spin isn’t a good idea, my friend. And he responded by saying he was on pain killers for 4-5 days and that he should be okay,” he added.

Tendulkar remembered the first time he faced Warne on the field.

“It was in the year 1991 that I played against him. We were playing a practice game against Prime Minister’s XI. And here comes a stocky, strong, blonde guy bowling leg-spin. The focus was on other bowlers, by that time I had played a couple of years of international cricket and the focus was on the rest of the attack. But Shane came and bowled some incredible deliveries,” said Tendulkar in a video posted on his YouTube channel and 100MB app.