Anil Kumble reveals "untold secret of Australian team" while paying tribute to Shane Warne

Former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble paid a tribute to late Australian legend Shane Warne on Saturday. The 52-year-old died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand on Friday that sent shockwaves throughout the cricketing fraternity.

The Australian team over the years was known for playing mind games with the opposition and engaging in banter to have a psychological advantage. However, Anil Kumble revealed an untold secret of that dominant Australian team.

Speaking to Star Sports, here is what Kumble had to say about that secret involving Shane Warne:

“There was this secret, an untold secret about the Australian team, that they will not go after a cricketer if you are friends with Shane Warne. So when you went out to bat, and if you were friends with Warne, you didn't get any banter from the Aussies. So when I went to bat, Aussies didn't need to do any banter to unsettle me. That was Warnie, that was how he looked after his friends.”

Shane Warne wanted to do really well against India: Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble also revealed that Warne was always keen to bring out his best game when it came to playing against the Indian team. During Warne's playing days, India had some excellent batters who could handle spin and the Aussie leggie always wanted to test himself against the best.

On this, Anil Kumble asserted:

“His greatness magnifies because he played really well against India. He wanted to do really well against us because we were good players of spin. There was this series in 1998 where everybody was speaking about 'Sachin vs Warne'. Warne got the better of him in the first innings, and then Sachin got the better of him in the second.”

The second highest wicket-taker in Test history and one of the few cricketers to pick up more than a thousand international wickets, Warne, will forever be remembered for his contributions.