Chennai: The cricket fraternity in the country is in a state of shock after coming to know about the demise of former cricketer and national selector VB Chandrasekhar, who passed away yesterday after committing suicide.
Chandrasekhar was a dashing right-handed batsmen who was known for his aggressive style of play. He played only seven ODIs for India between 1988 and 1990 but he was prolific in the domestic circuit, aggregating 4999 runs in 81 games with a highest score of 237 not out.
A qualified engineer, Chandrasekhar made his first-class debut at the age of 25 and played in a formidable Tamilnadu team, which comprised WV Raman, Diwakar Vasu, LaxmanSivaramakrishnan and Bharath Arun.
Partnering with another dashing opener in Kris Srikkanth, he was part of the Ranji Trophy winning Tamilnadu side in the year 1987. He held the record for the fastest hundred in the RanjiTrophy , which was a 56-ball ton for Tamilnadu against Rest of India in an Irani Cup game , that brought him into national reckoning. The record was broken in 2016 by Rishabh Pant who smashed a 52-ball century.
Despite not being able to play cricket after 1990, he was involved with cricket at various levels. He was the national selector of the Indian team during the time when Greg Chappel was the coach. Later, during the advent of IPL, he was roped in as Chennai Super Kings’ manager and was instrumental in CSK’s team composition by successfully bidding for MS Dhoni during the inaugural auction.
Credited as an astute reader of the game, Chandrasekhar also turned to commentary in recent times. He also runs a cricket academy and owns a team in TNPL which is VB Kanchi Veerans that reached the semi-finals for the first time this year.
Condolences pour in
“Very sad to hear of the passing away of VB Chandrasekhar. Have fond memories of him, Condolences to his family,” tweeted Sachin Tendulkar today.
India and CSK player Suresh Raina condoled the death of Chandrasekhar. “Extremely sad & shocked to hear about the passing away of VB Chandrasekhar sir. His consistent efforts made it possible to set the right foundation of the CSK team. He always encouraged & believed in us since very beginning. My deepest condolences to the family,” Raina tweeted.
India and CSK off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also expressed his sadness. “Very shocking to hear VB Chandrashekhar indian cricketer is no more.. very sad news .. very young to go.. rest in peace VB.. Big lose. condolences to the family.’ ‘He was instrumental in signing me for CSK in 2008. Will forever be grateful for the role that he has played in shaping my career,” said former cricketer Subramanian Badrinath.