Spin legend Shane Warne is in negotiations with several clubs to come out of retirement and make a comeback in Australia's Big Bash Twenty20 League, with Melbourne Stars seen as the favourite to lure him. The 42-year-old apparently brought the curtain down on his stellar two-decade cricket career at the Indian Premier League in May. But Fairfax media said he would be unveiled as Melbourne's marquee signing next week.
Both the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age reported that a lucrative package was enough to see him join the fledgling eight-team tournament, which starts in December. In a Tweet late Friday, Warne said he was "Seriously contemplating & considering coming out of retirement for the 20/20 big bash competition".
Warne, who is from Melbourne, has been in the city this week with his British actress fiancee Liz Hurley and has said he was keen for her to spend time in his home town. The Melbourne Stars confirmed they were in negotiations with the player. "We understand through Shane Warne's management that he is still considering offers from several teams, including the Melbourne Stars," Stars chief executive Clint Cooper said in a statement on Friday. "We anticipate a decision as to which team Shane will play for after detailed consideration of all offers within the next week."
The leg-spinner is one of the greatest cricketers ever to play the game and claimed more than 1,000 wickets in his international career, which included 145 Tests and 194 one-day matches. But Warne has not played top-flight cricket in Australia since helping the country to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash over England in January 2007. Several overseas players have signed up with the eight franchises that will contest the tournament, including South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Collingwood of England, and Pakistani Shahid Afridi.
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