Cricket icon Shane Warne has said he is overwhelmed after learning he could have a new underground train station in Melbourne named after him.

Warne, who took an incredible 708 Test wickets for Australia, is widely regarded as the best bowler the country has ever produced.

And the legendary leg-spinner’s popularity has not waned, with the 48-year-old among the suggestions after the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority asked the public to help name five new underground train stations.

Around 50,000 suggestions were put forward by the public before a deadline that closed on Sunday, with an advisory panel now to pore over the nominations.

In addition to suggesting Shane Warne, name nominations included Bunnings’ Sausage, Vegemite and other sporting figures like Sir Don Bradman, Adam Gilchrist and both Waugh brothers.

“I’m a very proud Victorian,” Warne posted on Twitter on Thursday.

“This has blown me away to even be considered for this honour – wow!”

The advisory panel is made up of members from the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, the Public Transport Users Association, Aboriginal Victoria, Museums Victoria, Youth Affairs Council.

That panel will then present a shortlist of suggestions for each of the five stations to the state government.

“Shane Warne is an iconic Victorian and one of the greatest cricketers of all time – and it’s great to see him getting behind this project,” an MMRA spokesman told The New Daily.

The stations that require names will be based in St Kilda, at the Domain Precinct, in Arden, near North Melbourne, and in Parkville, close to Carlton.

A further two stations – dubbed ‘CBD North’ and ‘CBD South’ for the time being – require names.

Earlier this week, Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the panel had received an “extraordinary” number of nominations.

“We have had an overwhelming response with an extraordinary 50,000 suggestions that reflect Victoria’s diversity, history and cheeky sense of humour,” she said.

“Now the hard work begins for the advisory panel to assess submissions before compiling a shortlist of names for each station for the government to consider.

“The Metro Tunnel will free up the City Loop, Melbourne’s biggest bottleneck, creating space for more trains, more often.”

The tunnel, set to cost an approximate $11 billion, is expected to be completed by 2026.