'How about showing a bit more respect': Twitter tears into ex-AUS player for saying 'Warne's death didn't surprise me'

While tributes pour in from across the world for the legendary Shane Warne, who died at the age of 52 last Friday, one comment made by a former Australia cricketer has not gone down well with fans.

While tributes pour in from across the world for the legendary Shane Warne, who died at the age of 52 last Friday, one comment made by a former Australia cricketer has not gone down well with fans. Ian Healy, the former Australia wicketkeeper who kept to Warne and was the former leg-spinner’s long-time teammate, said that the cricket icon's death did not surprise him and that he never took care of his body. (

Shane Warne died last Friday at the age of 52. (Getty Images)

"An early passing didn't surprise me for Warnie. He didn't look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down," Healy told The Today Show. "He didn't put much sunscreen on. I thought it would have become skin issues for him over time, but not at 52. And he would have been full of beans right to the end, I bet."

Stay tuned with breaking news on HT Channel on Facebook. Join Now

The remark has infuriated fans on Twitter, who were not at all pleased with Healy's comments. Here are some of the tweets.

This is not the first time that fans have expressed their displeasure at a comment made by a former cricket player on Warne and his passing. A day after Warne passed away, India great Sunil Gavaskar said that Warne was not the greatest spinner and that he had pretty ordinary record against India.

"Look at Shane Warne's record against India. It was pretty ordinary. In India, he got five wickets only once in Nagpur, and that too because Zaheer Khan swung wildly against him to give him a fifer. Because he did not have much success against Indian players who were very good players of spin, I don't think I would call him the greatest. Muttiah Muralitharan, with a greater success he had against India, I would rank him over Warne in my book," Gavaskar had said.

After receiving backlash from the public, Gavaskar issued clarification for his remarks, saying: "Last week was a very traumatic time for cricket fraternity as in 24 hours, we lost two icons of the game - Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne. On TV, I was asked by an anchor whether Warne was the greatest spinner and I gave my honest opinion. In hindsight, that question should not have been asked nor should it have been answered as it was not the right time for any comparison or evaluation."