Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday paid tribute to Australian great Shane Warne, saying the spinner found a place in the hearts of fans of the island nation for coming to the aid of the country after the 2004 tsunami.
Sri Lanka paid tribute to the late Australian, who died at the age of 52 of a suspected heart attack in March, ahead of the first Test against Australia in Galle – a venue where Warne took his 500th Test wicket.
The wrist spinner won the South Asian nation on a relief tour of Galle after the devastation of the Boxing Day tsunami.
“Everybody knows he’s been a great player, but especially after the tsunami, he got very close to Sri Lankan hearts,” Ranatunga told reporters.
“That was why everyone broke down when we heard the news.”
Warne helped raise more than $1 million to rebuild the Galle International Stadium after it was devastated by the tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people worldwide – 31,000 of them in Sri Lanka.
Ranatunga, who had several on-field appearances with Warne, said the Australian was “an amazing player and a tough competitor”.
The left-handed batsman, one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketing stars, led the team to the 1996 50-over World Cup title when they beat Australia by seven wickets in Lahore.
Ranatunga said that he and his team learned the art of sledding from Australians and gave them back completely.
“They are very tough when you travel to Australia, so we learned from them,” said the 58-year-old. “Unfortunately I used it for Australia in the 1996 World Cup final.”
Ranatunga described Warne as the greatest turner of the cricket ball among the leg-spinners of his time, including India’s Anil Kumble and Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed.
Warne began his illustrious career with 708 Test wickets, second only to Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s 800.
“They enjoyed their success when they played against each other,” said Ranatunga of the rivalry between the two spin giants.
“Knowing Murali, I think he preferred to take one wicket more than Shane and I am sure it can happen (with Shane). When we were playing Australia, I could have got the best out of Murali.
Other former Sri Lankan cricket stars including Arvind de Silva, Muralitharan and Romesh Kaluwitharana also came to Galle to pay tribute to Warne.
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