Australian cricketer Shane Warne has died aged 52, his management company MPC Entertainment announced.
A brief statement said that the former player, one of the finest bowlers of all time, passed away in Thailand from a suspected heart attack.
Warne was a larger-than-life character whose 708 Test wickets has been surpassed only by contemporary rival and fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” MPC said.
“The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course."
Warne is regarded as one of the finest leg-spin bowlers of all time after a career in which he took 708 test wickets in a test career that spanned the years from 1992 to 2007.
He delivered what was described as the "ball of the century" during his first Ashes tour to England in 1993, bowling veteran Mike Gatting with an extraordinary delivery.
He was named as one of the Wisden cricketers on the year in 1994. He was briefly banned from cricket in 2003 for taking a prohibited substance.
He later played in the Indian Premier League and other Twenty20 competitions before retiring from all international cricket in 2013 but continued to be involved in the game as a broadcaster.
Earlier today, he tweeted his respects after the death of another Australian cricket great, Rod Marsh, was announced.
Australia opener David Warner tweeted: "Two legends of our game have left us too soon. I'm lost for words, and this is extremely sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Marsh and Warne family. I just can not believe it. #rip, you will both be missed"
Marsh on Friday was remembered as “a colossal figure” in Australian cricket who gave close to 50 years' service to the sport. Tributes poured in after he died aged 74.
Warne’s former team-mate Adam Gilchrist tweeted: “Numb. The highlight of my cricketing career was to keep wicket to Warnie. Best seat in the house to watch the maestro at work.
“Have often felt a tad selfish, that Heals and I pretty much exclusively are the only ones who had that thrill and pleasure at Test level. Rip Warnie.”
West Indies cricket great Sir Vivian Richards tweeted about Warne: "There are no words to describe what I feel right now. A huge loss for cricket."
Ahmed Raza, the captain of the UAE cricket team, was one of the first to pay tribute. He tweeted "Life is so unpredictable" and described Warne as an "absolute superstar".
Indian test cricketer Shikhar Darwan said it was an incredible loss to cricket. He wrote "Thank you for everything you’ve done for the sport."
