Ravichandran hailed spin legend Shane Warne for redefining bowling and bringing spin as an attacking commodity in world cricket.

Warne, who took 708 wickets from 145 Tests and 293 scalps in 194 ODIs, died last Friday while holidaying in Thailand, leaving the cricketing world shell-shocked. He was only 52.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, off-spinner Ashwin, who’s now India’s second highest wicket-taker in Tests (436) after Anil Kumble, said: “I see Warne as a flag-bearer for carrying the spin aspect of bowling on the front in the world cricketing map.

“The top three wicket-takers in the world are spinners in the form of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.

“He (Warne) was an interesting character. So many Australian legends had so many nice things to say about him. I still can’t accept the fact that life is so fickle. We cannot predict what can happen.

“Shane Warne was a colourful character. He redefined bowling and has taken more than 1,000 international wickets. Not many can achieve this rare feat.”

Warne had bowled the ‘ball of the century’ deceiving Mike Gatting at Old Trafford (in June 1993) with a delivery that landed on the leg stump and, as the Englishman tried to defend, turned viciously to clip the top of off-stump. That isn’t Ashwin’s favourite Warne delivery though.

It’s the one Warne had bowled to England’s Andrew Strauss during the Edgbaston Test in the 2005 Ashes. It was again the leg break, delivered from round the wicket to the left-hander, which pitched way outside the off stump and a shuffling Strauss decided to let go of the ball, only to find it turn almost right angle and rattling the middle and leg stumps.

“Shane Warne brought spin as an attacking commodity to this cricketing world. Everyone will talk about Warne’s delivery to Mike Gatting, but my favourite is his delivery to Andrew Strauss in the 2005 Ashes,” Ashwin said.

“He almost single-handedly fought for Australia in that series. He was a maestro. He was an extra-ordinary human being and he lived his life to the fullest,” Ashwin added.

During his childhood, Warne had suffered two broken legs when another kid jumped from a height and landed on his back. With both legs swathed in plaster casts, Warne had to push himself around in a cart, developing extraordinary strength in his upper body.

“They used to bully him and it seems he broke both his legs while playing. He couldn’t walk and was on bed rest. For three-four weeks, he walked or rather floated using his bare hands and those made his shoulders strong, and there was no looking back.

“That’s what he had told Rahul (Dravid) bhai. We all face obstacles in life, but look how Warne converted it as his success formula,” Ashwin emphasised.

“For a spinner, your shoulder and upper-half of the body have to be extremely strong because you have to use many rotations to spin the ball. To master your craft, you should keep bowling at nets. More so, if you are a leg-spinner. Warne had strong shoulders and that was his massive advantage.”