Shane Warne's brave IPL decision from 2008 set to make him very rich soon

A decision taken by former Australian spinner Shane Warne in 2008 is set to make him rich soon. The spin legend, who had retired from international cricket in 2008, was persuaded by Rajasthan Royals to lead the franchise in the Indian Premier League then. The Aussie leg spinner has now revealed that he is awaiting a big payday from his former Indian Premier League (IPL) side Rajasthan Royals due to the small stake he got in the franchise for the four years that he played for them from 2008 to 2011.

Warne told the Herald Sun that as part of his deal with the RR, he was given an ownership of 0.75 per cent of the franchise for every year he plays in the IPL for them. Warne had not only joined the Rajasthan outfit as their skipper but was also appointed as the coach.

"(It was) part of my deal because I had retired from international cricket and I came out (of retirement), they asked me to be captain, coach and run a cricket team the way I wanted to run it; I was the one-stop shop," he is quoted as saying by the Australian daily.

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Warne had an exceptional time with the franchise that won the inaugural season of the IPL, beating Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in a nail-bitting final. The Australian legend led a young side and mentored several Indian players like Yusuf Pathan, Munaf Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.

"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," Warne said. The franchise is currently worth USD 200 million and Warne estimates that the valuation could be doubled in the next couple of years. "Three per cent of USD400 million is all right," he said.

On individual front, Warne had finished the season with 19 wickets only behind his RR teammate Sohail Tanvir who won the purple cap that year.