The world’s greatest ever leg-spinner is believed to have told his Melbourne Stars teammates that he will not be back to play in next season’s Big Bash League.
Warne, 43, is understood to have made clear his intentions to quit in the aftermath of a gut-wrenching last ball semi-final loss to Perth at the WACA Ground on Wednesday night.
It has been unclear whether the former superstar spinner, who holds an Australian record 708 Test wickets from 145 matches, was contracted for a third season in the rapidly expanding Australian Big Bash series.
And the cricket legend is likely to go out on a sour note with more code of conduct charges hanging over Warne’s head from the highly emotional semi-final defeat that bundled his Stars out of the rich $13million Champions League tournament next October.
It brings to an end a horrendously intense summer of conflict for Warne as virtually the face of the Big Bash tournament, highlighted with a horrible on-field verbal and physical stoush and repeated slow over rates.
Big Bash fielding teams are required to conclude their 20-over stints within 80 minutes.
The Stars lost in Perth from the last ball of the match after the home side needed 10 runs to win from the final over.
Melbourne dropped a catch, missed a run-out and sent down a no-ball off what would have been the last delivery of the pressure-cooker classic when the Stars should have won by a single run.
Recently retired international batting star Mike Hussey smacked the last ball of the spine-tingling clash for four to secure the win and a second successive grand final berth at home for Perth.
Warne is expected to be charged with bringing the game into disrepute as early as Thursday when the ace spinner arrives back into Melbourne from another conflict with Australia’s top cricket authorities.
He served a one-game ban after an ugly on-field confrontation with West Indies star Marlon Samuels in a clash with cross-town rivals Melbourne Renegades at the MCG on January 6.
Warne served his ban in the last qualifying Big Bash appointment and then sent shockwaves through the competition ahead of the semi-final in Perth when he claimed he was not Stars captain for the crucial knockout clash.
Warne faced a one-game ban after warnings of a slow over-rate through the tense series.
It is believed that match authorities will declare that Warne is the Stars official captain and that he should take blame for a slow over rate.
He is likely to be charged for a breach of Rule 5 governing "Laws of Cricket and Spirit" of the match.
A memo is known to have been sent to all Big Bash franchises before the tournament launched on December 7.
The statement read: "If a team's official captain is selected but not named as captain, this will be considered against the Spirit of Cricket and may attract a Code of Behaviour charge."
Any hearing for Warne has not been set.
Warne has been a major drawcard and publicity face of this summer's Big Bash series but has not yet declared whether he will play again in Australia's domestic Twenty20 series.