Gaekwad, former India batter and coach, dies at 71

Former India batter and coach Anshuman Gaekwad passed away in Vadodara on Wednesday, following a long battle with blood cancer. He was 71.

The Mumbai-born cricketer played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India between 1975 and 1987, before becoming a selector, and later, the coach of the national team.
Gaekwad was the coach of the Indian team that finished runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.

"My deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr Aunshuman Gaekwad. Heartbreaking for the entire cricket fraternity. May his soul rest in peace," the BCCI general secretary Jay Shah confirmed Anshuman Gaekwad's demise.

"It's a loss to the cricket fraternity. He was a great taskmaster. Always passionate and loved talking about cricket. I had met him one month ago and his situation wasn't nice. We looked up to him when we were young. I played under him too," former India wicketkeeper Kiran More said.

As a batter, Gaekwad scored 1985 runs from 70 Test innings, with a highest score of 201 against Pakistan in 1982-83, where he patiently batted for 671 minutes - then the slowest ever double-century in first-class cricket.

He also famously made 81 in Jamaica against a West Indies side boasting the likes of Michael Holding in its attack.  It's an incident he elaborated in great detail in his autobiography 'Guts Amid Bloodbath' which was launched in May 2023.