Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday said Australians were "bewildered" by a "sad and sudden loss" of Shane Warne, and announced the cricketing hero would receive a state funeral.
"He was one of our nation's greatest characters," Morrison said, marking the 52-year-old's death.
Praising him as inspiration to backyard cricketers across the country, Morrison described a larger-than-life character who lit up each Australian summer.
"His humour, his passion, his irreverence, his approachability ensured he was loved by all."
In recognition of Warne's "national achievements his family will be offered a state funeral," Morrison said in a statement.
"This will be done in consultation with the Warne family," he said, promising to "ensure we honour Shane's passing and memory."
Morrison - who recently tested positive for Covid-19 and is in isolation - compared Warne to all-time great and fellow Australian Don Bradman.
"There was none like Shane," Morrison said. "He lived his life his way. He had his great achievements, but also his regrets. He carried them all the same way. With a cheeky smile & a zest for life."
"There was something magical that he brought to our summers. The bleached blonde hair, the almost casual way he moved to send down a delivery, and his engagement with the crowd. He was one of a kind."
"He inspired so many girls and boys to try their hand at cricket. He made it all look so easy. At some point, in most Australian backyards, we all tried to deliver a flipper."
"Our love and condolences go to Shane's family and particularly his children Brooke, Jackson, and Summer."
Current Australia Test captain Pat Cummins, on tour in Pakistan, said in a video posted on Cricket Australia's Twitter: "Warnie was an all-time great, a once-in-a-century type of cricketer and his record will live on forever.
"We all grew up watching Warnie, idolising him, we all had posters on our wall, had his earrings. We loved so much his showmanship, his charisma, his tactics. He just willed himself and his team to win games for Australia.
"So many guys in this squad still hold him as a hero, their all-time favourite player. The loss we're all trying to wrap our heads around is huge. The game was never the same after Warnie emerged and the game will never be the same after his passing. Rest in peace, King."
With an instrumental Warne in their ranks, Australia won six Ashes series in a row and were the dominant force in cricket for more than a decade from the mid-1990s in both Tests and one-day internationals.
Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second-highest ever, in 145 matches across an illustrious 15-year international career.
The charismatic, combative bowler also claimed 293 wickets in one-day internationals and helped Australia win the World Cup in 1999.
Adam Gilchrist was also a central part of the team and the wicketkeeper-batter, while reeling from the devastating news, reflected with pride that he and predecessor Ian Healy were stumpers for Warne.
He wrote on Twitter: "Numb. The highlight of my cricketing career was to keep wicket to Warnie.
"Best seat in the house to watch the maestro at work. Have often felt a tad selfish, that Heals and I pretty much exclusively are the only ones who had that thrill and pleasure at Test level. Rip Warnie."
Named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, alongside Donald Bradman, Garfield Sobers, Jack Hobbs and Viv Richards, Warne came to prominence with a wickedly spinning leg-break to Mike Gatting in 1993.
The delivery was named ball of the century as Gatting was left confounded. It was no fluke as Warne's array of leg-breaks, googlies, flippers and sliders bamboozled many accomplished batters in the years that followed.
"Without a doubt, he is number one ever," Gatting told Sky Sports. "There has been a lot of great cricketers, great spinners and great leg-spinners, but Warnie will always be certainly from my point of view the number one."
England's 2005 Ashes winning captain Michael Vaughan said on Instagram: "It just doesn't feel real to be talking about someone who once was an enemy on the pitch to one who became a great friend off it."
And captain between 1999 and 2003, Nasser Hussain, said on Twitter that "it was an absolute privilege to share a cricket field and more recently a commentary box with the great man".
Meanwhile, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting called Warne the "greatest bowler" he ever played with or against.
"Hard to put into words. I first met him when I was 15 at the Academy. He gave me my nickname," Ponting tweeted.
"We were teammates for more than a decade, riding all the highs and lows together."
Warne's death came just hours after that of former Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh and former player Allan Border told Fox Cricket: "I’ve shed some tears over the last couple of days with Rod Marsh, it’s going to be hard getting through the next couple of days finally realising I’m not going to see Shane again.
"It’s just so sad."
A special 2am edition of Melbourne’s Herald Sun was one of several papers to lead with the news that Warne’s friends raised the alarm when he was late for a scheduled get-together in Koh Samui.
The Australian said Warne was due to meet friends for a night out, "barely a day into a three-month break," when they realised something was wrong.
The Age quotes Warne’s manager James Erskine as saying that the 52-year-old was "on holiday, having a lie down, siesta, he hadn’t been drinking, he’d been on this diet to lose weight."
The Daily Telegraph said that Australian government officials have met with one of Warne’s friends in Thailand as what they describe as the "battle" to get his body home begins.
