Follow UsIndian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja paid tribute to his first Indian Premier League captain Shane Warne who passed away on Friday due to a suspect heart attack.
Jadeja, who was fresh from the Indian Under 19 team in 2008, won the inaugural edition of the IPL under Warne's captaincy.
"It was a shocking news. The moment I heard it, I was so sad and I wasn't feeling well. I found it difficult to believe that this can be true," Jadeja said at the virtual press conference on Day 2 of the Mohali Test.
"When I first met him in 2008, he was already a legend and I couldn't believe that I would be playing alongside a player of Shane Warne's stature," he said.
Warne had always rated Jadeja highly and nicknamed him 'The Rockstar'.
"We were just coming out of our U-19s and to share the dressing room with Warne was a huge thing for youngsters like us. He gave me a huge platform and post U-19, it was a direct entry into the IPL," Jadeja said.
"His death shows that there are no certainties in life. Anything can happen anytime and this kind of news suddenly shocks you to 'what the hell is happening?' I want to pray to Almighty that his soul rests in peace," he added.
Jadeja scored an unbeaten 175 as India declared at 574/8. The left-armer also got the wicket of opener Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka ended the day at 108/4.