Hemant Kanitkar,former India cricketer dies

Mumbai: Hemant Kanitkar (72), former India cricketer died on Tuesday night in Pune at his residence, according to the source he was suffering from prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife and sons namely Hrishikesh, who was also a former India batsman and Aditya.

“Not once has he ever – whatever match I played – said ‘this match is crucial’ or ‘you have to score runs’. Whether it was school cricket or Ranji, if I had a bad patch, he was the same, if I scored runs, he was the same,” Hrishikesh had said in an interview.

He scored a century on his first-class debut for Maharashtra against Saurashtra in 1963-64 and also represented Maharashtra from 1963-64 to 1977-78. His good performance in Ranji matches made him to play for the national team against West Indies in the year 1974-75; he played two tests against them and also scored brilliant 65 in his 1^st test innings at Bengaluru.

In Ranji matches he scored 3,632 runs at an average of 43.75 and was a pillar for Maharashtra. His highest score in Ranji matches was against Rajasthan where he scored 250 in 1970-71.

“On behalf of the BCCI, I would like to extend my condolences to his family, and pray that his soul rests in peace,” BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said in a statement.

• Kanitkar also served as a coach and selector for Maharashtra after retiring from 1^st class cricket in 1977-78.
• He was a member of BCCI All-India Junior Selection Committee in the year 1992-93.
• He also chaired the junior selection panel from 1996-99.
• Scored 5,007 runs in a first class career at an average of 42.79 with 13 centuries.

“Kanitkar was a versatile cricketer. He was an outstanding batsman for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy, for a decade-and-a-half. He was also an excellent wicket-keeper,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said.

“His second innings, as selector and guide to youngsters, was equally noteworthy,” he added.