The cricketing world is in complete shock after hearing the news of Shane Warne's death from a heart attack at the age of 52 on Friday.
The iconic leg-spinner passed away in Thailand of a suspected heart attack, his management company said in a statement to Fox Sports.
s per a statement given to Fox News by Warne's management firm, he passed away in Koh Samui, Thailand of a suspected heart attack.
"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.
For Australian cricket, this is the second devastating news in 24 hours with fellow great, Rod Marsh, dying earlier on Friday having suffered a major heart attack last week.
"Cannot believe it. One of the greatest spinners, the man who made spin cool, superstar Shane Warne is no more. Life is very fragile, but this is very difficult to fathom. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and fans all around the world," tweeted former India cricketer Virender Sehwag.
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar said he would always treasure the battles he had with Warne on the field. Tendulkar, considered by many to be the best batsman of his generation and one of the greatest ever, had many battles with Warne over more than a decade. "Will miss you Warnie. There was never a dull moment with you around, on or off the field. Will always treasure our on-field duels & off field banter. You always had a special place for India & Indians had a special place for you," Tendulkar tweeted
India batter Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma followed Tendulkar to condole the sudden demise of the legendary spinner.
"Life is so fickle and unpredictable. I cannot process the passing of this great of our sport and also a person I got to know off the field. RIP #goat (Greatest of All-Time). Greatest to turn the cricket ball," Virat Kohli tweeted.
India captain Rohit Sharma expressed his shock and unbelief. "I'm truly lost for words here, this is extremely sad. An absolute legend and champion of our game has left us. RIP Shane Warne....still can't believe it," he wrote on Twitter.
"It's a sad day for world cricket. First the news of Rodney Marsh & now Shane Warne Heartbreaking! I have fond memories of playing with Warne. He was the king of spin & a legend of the game who's gone way before his time. RIP. You will be missed my condolences to his family," Yuvraj Singh tweeted.
"Numb. The highlight of my cricketing career was to keep wicket to Warnie. Best seat in the house to watch the maestro at work. Have often felt a tad selfish, that Heals and I pretty much exclusively are the only ones who had that thrill and pleasure at Test level. Rip Warnie," Adam Gilchrist wrote.
"Please no ....heartbroken. Already miss "The King": wrote former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum wrote.
"The global cricketing community is poorer today with the passing away of Australian great Shane Warne. The BCCI mourns the loss of the champion cricketer who enriched the game with his craft," BCCI wrote.
"And speechless at the moment. I literally don't know how to sum up this situation. My friend is gone!! We have lost one of the Greatest Sportsmen of all time!! My condolences go out to his family. RIP Warnie!! You will be missed," former West Indies batter Brian Lara tweeted.
Sir Vivian Richards, who was another of Wisden's five greatest players of the 20th century, wrote of his disbelief at the loss of Australia's greatest bowler.
"I am shocked to the core. This can't be true," Sir Vivian wrote.
The former England all-rounder Kevin Pietersen, who was a close friend of Warne's, tweeted "F***' when the news broke followed by a string of crying emojis and the hashtag #RIPKing."
"Just heard the devastating news about legendary Shane Warne passing away. No words to describe how shocked & sad i am. What a legend. What a man. What a cricketer," former Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar tweeted.
Ex-England batsman Ian Bell wrote: "Surely not??? Utterly heartbreaking."
In Antigua, where England are playing a warm-up match on their tour of the West Indies, a minute's silence was held in remembrance of Warne.
The current England all-rounder Ben Stokes posted: "Australian Legend. @rajasthanroyals Legend. Was an honour to know you and work with you. This man is a LEGEND. #theking"
Shane Warne was one of the best leg-spinners to have embraced the game and was fondly known as 'King of Spin'. Warne scalped 708 wickets in his illustrious career which spanned for 145 Test matches.
Warne played 194 One Day Internationals for Australia in which he scalped 293 wickets. The right-hander was also handy with the bat as he scored 3,154 runs in his Test career. He amassed 1,018 runs in the 50-overs format.
The leg-spinner was known for his guile bowling and took a total of 1001 wickets. He became the first-ever bowler to scale the peak of 1,000 international wickets.