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MUMBAI, July 2: Former Test batsman Dilip Sardesai, best remembered for his
stellar display in India's historic Test series victory in the West Indies in
1971, died here on Monday due to multiple organ failure. Sardesai, 67, is
survived by wife Nandini, well-known TV journalist son Rajdeep and a daughter
based in the US. The funeral would take place tomorrow morning at the
Chandanwadi crematorium. Sardesai was admitted to Bombay hospital late last
month with chest infection and seemed to be recovering before things turned for
the worse last evening. "He was re-admitted to the ICU on Saturday night after
developing complications and the end came late this evening," said Mumbai
Cricket Association treasurer and CAO of the Cricket Board, Prof Ratnakar
Shetty. Suffering from kidney problems for a long time, he had been on dialysis
and had been off-and-on in and out of hospital. In his Test career stretching
from 1961 to 1972-73, the Goa-born former middle order batsman and occasional
opener, scored 2001 runs in 30 Tests at an average of 39.23, that included five
centuries (two double hundreds in it). Sardesai made his debut in Kanpur
against England in 1961 and played his last Test against the same opponents in
1972 before he became a selector for Mumbai, for which he did yeoman service as
a player. Apart from the 642 runs he amassed against the West Indies, Sardesai
will also be remembered for his role in India's Test series win over New
Zealand in 1965 at home. Born on August 8, 1940 at Margao, Goa, Sardesai made
his Test debut against England at Kanpur in December 1961 and played his last
Test against the same team at Delhi in December 1972. During a career spanning
11 years, Sardesai played 30 Tests and scored 2001 runs in 55 innings with an
average of 39.23. However, he is most remembered for his stellar performance
during the tour of the West Indies in 1970-71, when Sunil Gavaskar made his
Test debut, by hitting up a double century and two centuries that powered India
to a historic first-ever series victory in the Caribbean. His selection for the
tour of the West Indies came when his international career had appeared to be
virtually over. Sardesai also played a key role in India's Oval Test victory in
the summer of 1971. Sardesai was known for his immaculate footwork, especially
against the spinners and a sound defence that was a model for many aspiring
cricketers. Though predominantly a defensive batsman, Sardesai could also go
into the attacking mode when needed and fine example of this came when he
scored one of India's fastest centuries against New Zealand in 1964-65. Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Cricket Board
President Sharad Pawar and former cricket stalwarts, some of whom
contemporaries of Sardesai, paid rich tributes to him and described his death
as an irreparable loss to Indian cricket.
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