Thai police said on Monday that an autopsy showed Australian cricket legend Shane Warne died of natural causes on an island in Thailand last week.
The legendary Australian leg-spinner died on Friday after being found unresponsive at a luxury villa on the Thai holiday island of Koh Samui.
“Investigators received an autopsy report today in which a forensic doctor concluded that the death was of natural causes,” deputy national police spokesman Krishna Pattanacharoen said in a statement.
Warne’s family was informed of the result and accepted the conclusion. A deputy police spokesman said his body would be transferred to Australian consulate officials to be returned to the family.
“The investigators will finish the autopsy reports and send them to the state prosecutor at the earliest,” Krishna said.
Warne’s unexpected death at the age of 52 sent a wave of mourning among Prime Ministers, rock stars and fellow athletes.
The player – one of the greatest Test cricketers of all time – was found unresponsive at a Samujana resort villa on Friday after failing to meet friends.
Warne was taken to the Thai International Hospital Samui at around 6:00 am (1100 GMT), but his management said “he could not be revived” despite medical efforts.
Officials confirmed that his body would be taken to Bangkok and handed over to Australian diplomats for repatriation.
Well-wishers paid tribute to flowers, flags, an Australian sports shirt, a can of beans and a pack of cigarettes outside the villa on the northeast coast of Koh Samui, where Warne was found unconscious.
Australian media said Warne’s family would be cremated within two or three weeks after a memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The Great Southern Stand at the MCG, where the spinner took his 700th wicket on Boxing Day 2006, will be renamed the SK Warne Stand.
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