Former India cricketer and curator Sudhir Naik passes away aged 78

Former India cricketer and curator Sudhir Naik passed away in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday after an illness.

Sudhir Naik was admitted to a hospital after he fell on the bathroom and sustained a head injury. He went into a coma and unfortunately never recovered, sources close to the ex-player told PTI.

Sudhir Naik played 3 Tests and 2 ODIs for India in 1974. He used to open the bat and managed 141 runs in Tests, along with 38 runs in ODIs. His highest score in international cricket was 77, which came on his debut Test against England.

Naik was a respected figure in Mumbai maidans for his outstanding record with Mumbai in domestic cricket. He led Mumbai to Ranji glory in the 1970-71 season, a year where Mumbai won the title without star names like Sunil Gavaskar, Ashok Mankad and others. In first-class cricket, Naik scored 4376 runs at an average of 35 and consisted of 7 centuries.

Naik worked as the chief curator at the Wankhede stadium and was a mentor of former India pacer Zaheer Khan.

Sachin Tendulkar expressed condolences after the news broke out. The Indian legend took Twitter and wrote, "My heartfelt condolences to Shri Sudhir Naik ji's family and friends. His contributions to cricket will always be remembered. May his soul rest in peace."