Shane Warne was given a miniscule stake in IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals during the league’s inaugural edition in 2008, a deal that could potentially find the legendary spinner laughing his way to the bank in the coming days.
According to the Herald Sun , Warne was paid USD 657,000 and given an ownership of 0.75 percent for every year he played after coming out of retirement in 2008. “Part of my deal [was] because I had retired from international cricket and I came out [of retirement], they asked me to be the captain, coach and run a cricket team the way I wanted to run it; I was the one-stop shop,” Warne was quoted as saying by Herald Sun .
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Warne, who has also been a coach-cum-mentor and then brand ambassador of the Royals, led an unheralded bunch of players to an unlikely triumph in 2008.
Current India star Ravindra Jadeja was a talented uncapped player for the team back then; he had been backed to the hilt by Warne, who termed him a “rockstar.”
'The least favoured'
“We were the underdogs, we were the least favoured, no one gave us a chance to win. It was the first ever year of the IPL, of franchise cricket where owners bought players and players went into auctions.”
Rajasthan Royals franchise is currently worth USD 200 million and Warne, according to the report, believes that the valuation will be doubled in next couple of years. “Three per cent of USD 400 million is all right,” said Warne, which effectively means that he could earn up to USD 12 million.
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