RIP Irrfan Khan: Bollywood actor gave up career in cricket before joining National School of Drama to pursue acting

New Delhi, April 29: Actor Irrfan Khan received global recognition for his acting skills and his work in Bollywood as well as Hollywood movies is a testimony to his incredible talent.

Irrfan passed away on Wednesday (April 29) at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after losing his battle with a rare form of cancer. He is survived by his wife Sutapa and his sons Babil and Ayaan and was buried at the Versova graveyard.

He had acted in Hollywood films like 'The Amazing Spiderman', 'The Life of Pi', 'Jurrasic World: The Fallen Kingdom' to establish himself as one of India's finest and most versatile actors.

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Apart from his acting skills, he was also a great cricketer in his formative years but gave up the sport to pursue a more secure and long career in the entertainment industry.

In an interview with the Telegraph India, Irrfan had admitted that he wished to be a cricketer in his early twenties. The Rajasthan-based actor was also selected to play in the CK Nayudu Trophy, but lack of funds saw him miss out.

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"I played cricket. I wanted to become a cricketer. I was an all-rounder and the youngest one in my team in Jaipur. I wanted to make a career out of it. I was selected for the CK Nayudu tournament I think and then I needed money and didn't know who to ask. That day I decided I cannot pursue it. I couldn't have asked for Rs 600 at that time," Irrfan had said.

He then took admission at National School of Drama (NSD) for which he needed Rs 300 and it was his sister who arranged for the funds for him.

"I needed Rs 300 for National School of Drama, which was difficult for me. My sister finally got it for me," he revealed.

On the chat show Son of Abish in 2017, Irrfan told host and comedian Abish Mathew that he was an all-rounder but preferred batting over bowling.

"My captain liked my bowling, so he made me a bowler. I don't know. He used to tell me, 'Throw me a nice one...' I used to just throw the ball and somehow used to get a couple of wickets," he had said.

Irrfan's demise has sent shockwaves to the entire country and not just the Indian film industry, even the cricketing fraternity was saddened by his death.

Leading cricketers in the country offered their condolences to his family on social media and hailed Irrfan as one of the greatest actors the country has ever had.