Australian spin legend Shane Warne, who played his final competitive game on Friday, made it clear he won’t be returning as a full-time coach for the Rajasthan Royals or any other team next season but said he was interested in a consultancy role.

“This is my last game, never say never but at this stage of my life, I don’t see myself playing a game again. I am certainly not coming back as full-time coach,” Warne said after bringing down curtains on his two-decade long career with a 10-wicket win over Mumbai.

“I won’t be 100 per cent in the entire tournament. Definitely no point in being here for seven weeks if you are not playing. I may come in as consultant, may be ten days prior or some time in between. If they are happy, I will be here for a week or so. If not, I am done with the tournament, will watch it on the telly,” he added.

Warne said his team Rajasthan Royals was the best in the IPL competition when everything falls in place.

“We showed that when we do fire, we are the best team in the competition. Our batsmen fired at the top,” said the 41-year-old Australian legend after the Royals finished their IPL engagements on a high, though they couldn’t qualify for the playoffs.

Warne said that the blistering knock of 89 by Shane Watson that flattened Mumbai, who had a modest score of 133 to defend, indicated his Australian compatriot was among the very best in the world.

“If Watson is not the best batsman in the world currently, I don’t know who is? He’s fantastic! You could argue if he is not. He is among the top two batsmen in the world. He has already apologised to me for not doing it in the earlier games. He came away with his confidence high after scoring 180 in Bangladesh,” he said.

Warne also rued that prior to Friday’s game, the Royals played poorly at home and lost their qualifying hopes.

“We won six games, had a washout and did not play well in the last three or four games. Disappointed with the way we have played the last three or four games. But the way we played the last game, we have showed we can turn it on. One or two games here or there, that would have fetched us 17 points,” he said.

“Unfortunately our batsmen did not fire through the tournament. If (Shane) Watson had one more innings like that, Ross Taylor had one or two innings like that, we would have been first or second.”

Warne was also proud of Rajasthan Royals’ record in four editions of the tournament in which they stood second only to Chennai Super Kings in the number of matches won.

“I am really proud of the way our guys conducted on and off the field. We have won the second most number of games after Chennai in the four years. It’s a tremendous record. I am proud of the way RR have played over the last few years. I am surprised myself at how well I bowled at the age of 41.”

The 41-year-old cricketer also wanted the International Cricket Council to provide a clear window for the cash-rich T20 league.

“IPL is a fantastic tournament. ICC should say no international cricket for six weeks, that would do away with all the sledging. IPL is good for Indian cricket, good for world cricket.

He recalled when the IPL was conceptualised, no one really knew what to expect and also complimented former chairman Lalit Modi for making it a success.

“My best memory is 2008. No one knew what was going to happen in the IPL. No one knew what to expect with franchise teams, players’ auction and so on. We were the first to introduce spin and others copied it. I am happy. We came up with innovative ideas. Lalit Modi did a great job,” he said.

Going ahead, Warne felt IPL could do with some innovations in the form of super rounds to allow more than four foreigners in the playing eleven.

“In South Africa (in 2009), I was tossing around with plans to have two super rounds with five foreign players somewhere in the middle of the tournament to help teams struggling and make the tournament more exciting. If people like it, you can increase the super rounds to three, with each round coming after four games,” he said.

Talking about his future plans, the leg spin legend said that this was the happiest phase of his life.

“I would like to concentrate on my poker, being with my three kids and with Elizabeth (Hurley). I am happier than I have ever been. I have made a lot of friends and business wise, I have 3-4 businesses with a few more in the pipeline,” he said.

He also said he had plans to start an academy for spinners.

“I want to start a spinners’ academy where anyone can come and train for free. I am looking out for sponsors.”



Keywords: Australian spin legend ,Shane Warne,ajasthan Royals,IPL competition,Australian compatriot,Ross Taylor ,Chennai Super Kings