KARACHI, Dec 22: Pakistan former cricketers have praised Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne for announcing retirement at the peak of his cricketing career. “He is at the peak of his bowling and yet he has decided to retire leaving behind memories of his performance.

“By doing that, he set a good example for others to follow,” former captain Javed Miandad said.

He added, “I have played against some other leg-spinners as well with more variety, but Warne is a master of his trade. His strike rate is amazing.”

Former wicket-keeper Rashid Latif said cricketers, especially from the sub-continent, needed to learn the lesson from Warne's brave decision.

“Our players must learn when to announce retirement. Warne could have played for some more years but he chose to retire at the peak of his career,” Rashid said.

“Unfortunately in our part of the world the trend is different. Players do not realise that their time has passed. They keep on playing unless they are dropped from the side forcibly leaving behind bitter memories,” Rashid maintained.

Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq said Warne's statistics proved him as the greatest spinner of modern day cricket.

“You don't need to say much when you look at his Test bowling figures. They are awesome,” he said.

Former middle-order batsman Basit Ali said, “Only a few batsmen have played him with comfort and I remember it was not easy surviving against him. One needs to attack him to disturb his line.”—PPI