Former Australia spinner Shane Warne, considered as one of the all-time greats of the game who redefined spin bowling, has died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand. He was 52.
"Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived," the statement reported by the website said.
Warne had arrived in the resort on Thursday and was seen chatting with fans at the airport and appeared to be holidaying with friends.
He was found just hours after posting a final tweet expressing shock and grief at the death of his hero Rodney Marsh, Australia's great wicket keeper.
The ace spinner appears to have died shortly afterwards.
An iconic name in international cricket, Warne, since making his debut in 1992, played 145 Tests for Australia, picking up 708 wickets. In his 194 ODI appearances, Warne pared 293 scalps.
He became a global star in 1993 by bowling out Mike Gatting with the so-called 'Ball of the Century' - his first ball in Ashes cricket.
As a 24-year-old, he had deceived Gatting at Old Trafford with a delivery that landed on the leg stump and, as the Englishman tried to defend, turned viciously to clip his off bail. Gatting was left in disbelief by the big leg break, a craft that was dying before Warne revived it with his guile.
He was the second highest wicket taker in Test history and only Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has more wickets than him (800).
Warne was in a relationship with Liz Hurley following the end of his marriage to wife Simone. He and Hurley were together for around two years and were engaged before they split up.
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.'
Rohit Sharma posted on Twitter: '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.'
The England team held a minute's silence for Warne ahead of the fourth day of their tour match in the West Indies.
He was banned in 2003 for taking a prohibited substance - which he blamed on his mother for giving him a diuretic to 'improve his appearance'. He was famously pictured in the News of the World in his underwear with models Coralie Eichholz and Emma Kearney following his divorce.
A flamboyant personality both on and off the field, Warne also found success as a commentator and was considered among the sharpest analysts of the game.
