Playing under Shane Warne was dream come true, reveals Swapnil Asnodkar

Playing under Shane Warne was dream come true, reveals Swapnil Asnodkar

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Former Rajasthan Royals star Swapnil Asnodkar has admitted that playing under the legendary Shane Warne was a dream come true, something he will cherish for the rest of his life. One of the iconic images of 2008 IPL was Asnodkar opening alongside Graeme Smith, propelling RR to the title.

When Rajasthan Royals, led by Aussie great Shane Warne, took the field for the very first time, it was believed that the team would finish last and would be a template on how not to play and select a T20 squad. But, on the contrary, Royals won the title and one player who stood out was Swapnil Asnodkar.

One of the iconic images of IPL 2008 was Asnodkar opening alongside South Africa’s big and burly Graeme Smith and their partnership was a sight to watch. The opener from Goa scored 311 runs in the 9 innings at an impressive average of 34.55 and strike-rate of 133.47. He shared 418 runs with Smith at an average of 59.18 for the opening wicket and the partnership rather uniquely created quite a buzz during the tournament. With team captain Shane Warne praising the youngster, he was considered to be the next big thing in Indian cricket.

“That was an amazing experience. Playing under Warne was a big opportunity for a youngster like me and it was a learning experience. It was a new thing for us, and quite exciting. Training under Warne, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson was a big thing for me and I still have great memories,” Asnodkar told Sportstar.

“It was a new thing for us, and quite exciting. Training under Warne, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson was a big thing for me and I still have great memories…”

Cricket is a great leveler and Asnodkar found this the hard way. After a mind-boggling first season, Asnodkar failed in hostile and alien conditions in South Africa during the second season of IPL and teams were starting to find flaws in this Goa player. Royals also had a disappointing IPL 2009 and slowly but steadily Asnodkar was phased out of the team. Things fizzled out in the following seasons as he could only pick up 112 runs in 11 matches. The poor form, which prolonged a bit, was enough to end Asnodkar’s dream run.

Reflecting on his decline, Asnodkar said that he tried everything he possibly could, but revealed that things did not just work out for him. He then went on to admit that he perhaps got what he deserved, towards the end. He also added that despite the situation being difficult for him to digest, he had no option but to move on.

“I still don’t know what went wrong. Once I hit the rough patch, I asked Warnie (Warne) about how I could improve my game. He assured me of all help, but that never happened. Perhaps, this is all I deserved."

“It was very difficult to deal with the situation. It was frustrating, because from being a talked about cricketer, you were suddenly in middle of nowhere. As a person, I had to accept it and move on."

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