Former India cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad dies at 71 after long battle with cancer | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged battle with cancer at the age of 71.
Gaekwad, who played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India, was undergoing treatment for blood cancer at the King’s College Hospital in London before returning to India last month, PTI reported.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) contributed Rs 1 crore towards Gaekwad’s treatment.Members of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team also provided support.
Gaekwad’s cricket career included 205 first-class matches spanning 22 years. He later took up the role of coach for the Indian national team, achieving notable successes. Under his coaching, the Indian team finished as runners-up in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.
Gaekwad’s significant moments as a coach include victories in Sharjah in 1998 and the Test match at Ferozeshah Kotla in 1999, where Anil Kumble took all 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first to extend his condolences.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah also paid tribute to the late cricketer.

A determined opening batter, he was renowned for his tenacious defense and distinctively high back lift. Between 1974 and 1984, he often found himself in a competitive tussle with Chetan Chauhan for the role of the second opener alongside Sunil Gavaskar in the Indian team.
Known for his affable personality, he famously scored a double century against Imran Khan’s Pakistan in Jalandhar – a knock that was one of the slowest double hundreds of its time.
A bespectacled opener, Gaekwad’s finest moment came during the 1976 series at Sabina Park in Jamaica, where he faced a young Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel. Holding’s beamer struck him on the ear, leaving him bloodied, while local fans, perched on tree tops, shouted “Kill him, man… Kill him, Mikey,” a scene that Sunil Gavaskar later described as barbaric.
Gaekwad went on to coach the Indian team between 1998 and 1999, during which Anil Kumble achieved his historic 10-wicket haul at Kotla. It was also under his guidance that a young Harbhajan Singh made his Test debut, with Harbhajan always speaking highly of ‘Angshu sir’ for his dignified demeanor.
Beyond his playing and coaching career, Gaekwad served as a national selector, headed the Baroda Cricket Association, and was a BCCI Apex Council member representing the ICA until he fell ill.
Cricket legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Clive Lloyd, Andy Roberts, Farokh Engineer, Dilip Vengsarkar, BCCI president Roger Binny, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, Karsan Ghavri, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, and actor Nana Patekar all offered encouraging words to uplift Gaekwad’s spirits before his passing.