Saluting Shane
He’s been the ‘Sheik of Tweak’ and ‘Hollywood’ for years, but now Shane Warne is the ‘IPL King’, according to the Australian’s Bruce Loudon
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
He’s been the ‘Sheik of Tweak’ and ‘Hollywood’ for years, but now Shane Warne is the ‘IPL King’, according to the Australian’s Bruce Loudon. Warne is not only the captain, coach and match-winner, but he has also picked up some Hindi.
There can be no minimising the reality that the Hollywood ending and high drama of the match against the Chargers shows that Warne is king not just of the Rajasthan Royals but the entire event.
Ron Reed says in the Herald Sun he can’t watch more than 12 overs of an IPL game because there is no emotional attachment, which is “pretty much a must-have ingredient if sport is to be meaningful”.
Who cares if the Deccan Chargers beat the Rajasthan Royals? Not this column, that's for sure. The fans in India might, but if it is Australians doing most of the heavy lifting - as has been the case in most matches so far - does that dilute the dynamics?
Jamie Pandaram, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, says there is no telling what character the one-week-old IPL will develop. In the Age Chloe Saltau takes a look at Andrew Symonds’ form.
Peter English is former Australasia editor of ESPNcricinfo