"What has Warnie done now?" - Brett Lee reveals how he came to know about Shane Warne's death

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee recently revealed how it was ex-England spinner Graeme Swann who broke the news of Shane Warne's sudden death to him on Friday night.

Speaking on 'The Brett Lee Podcast', he revealed how he was suddenly getting a lot of notifications on his cell phone while he was asleep. He highlighted that he could not believe what he saw once he searched for Shane Warne's news on the internet.

Lee stated that he had initially assumed that Warne might have once again landed in some controversy. However, he was taken aback after learning about the cricket icon's demise.

He said:

"I normally have my phone on the low ring. I was down with mum and dad staying on the South Coast and then went to the Southern Islands. The light from my phone just kept flashing in my room. I looked out at it and it was from Graeme Swann and he said I can't believe the news on Warnie.

"That was 1 AM in the morning and I thought to myself, what has Warnie done? What's he done now? Is there another controversy kind of a thing? I go on my phone and type Shane Warne news and it came that he has died from an expected heart attack. I was like, Whaattt?"

The news of Warne's death has left the cricketer world devastated and many have expressed sadness over the loss of the the icon.

Lee also spoke about the immense popularity Warne enjoyed in Australia and even compared it to the following that sporting legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Michael Jordan have.

"You couldn't go anywhere without knowing who Shane Warne was" - Brett Lee

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted how every Australian knew who Shane Warne was. He added that because of the same, the cricket star was often surrounded by a number of people for autographs and pictures.

Lee pointed out that Warne would always take time out for his fans and would happily sign autographs and pose for selfies for them.

He also revealed that many would also abuse the leg-spinner and say terrible things about him, but he would never let the negativity affect him.

"The thing I'd say about Warnie is that, with Sachin Tendulkar over in India and the fame that he gets, with the Michael Jordans over in the US, with the David Beckhams, Warnie was that here in Australia. You couldn't go anywhere without knowing who Shane Warne was. And even if you don't watch cricket, pretty much everyone in Australia have heard of Shane Warne.

"But he would get harassed. He would be out having dinner before a Test match when we were commentating and we all sit together and he would get harassed for autographs and selfies.

"But one thing that a lot of people don't about him is that he always had time for people and he would always sign for kids and get the photos. He would cope with abuse walking down the street, but he would just take it in his stride."

Both Warne and Lee have shared the Australian dressing room for countless matches during their playing days. Furthermore, the two also worked with each other extensively as commentators.