Anshuman Gaekwad Passed Away After Prolonged Battle With Cancer

Former Indian cricketer and coach Anshuman Gaekwad passed away after a prolonged battle with blood cancer at the age of 71 on Wednesday night, 31st July at the Bhailal Amin General Hospital in Vadodara.

Anshuman Gaekwad Passed Away After Prolonged Battle With Cancer

The former great was admitted to the King’s Hospital in London a few months ago for better treatment. When the news of the Gaekwad family’s financial struggle to cope with the deadly disease broke out and came to the attention of the BCCI, they immediately announced a financial aid of INR 1 cr. Thereupon, he was shifted back to India and his treatment proceeded in Vadodara.

Making his test debut against the mighty West Indies in 1974, he represented India in 40 tests and scored 1985 runs with 2 centuries and 10 fifties. His highest score of 201 was a marathon innings against Pakistan in Jalandhar when he spent 671 minutes on the crease, dictating his patience and perseverance. He also played 15 ODIs, making 269 runs with one fifty.

After hanging his boots from international cricket in 1982, he embarked on the coaching journey and had a stint with the Indian national team from 1997 to 1999. Subsequently, he guided the Kenyan National team for a while and was offered a full-time role in 2009 but refused to due to some personal reasons.

Anshuman Gaekwad did not have a range of shots but his courage to face pace bowling and having a dodge defense helped him to succeed at the highest level in the era of minimum protection gears.