Mumbai's 'Mini Gavaskar' Sachin Deshmukh passes away due to coronavirus complications

The world has been suffering due to havoc wreaked by COVID-19 for such a long period now. The merciless virus hasn’t really left any corner of the world, and in the same light, Mumbai’s cricket family suffered a huge blow.

A local cricketer Sachin Deshmukh breathed his last at 2:57 pm on Tuesday at Vedant Hospital while he developed coronavirus complications. The 52-year-old player has been part of Mumbai and Maharashtra Ranji teams but could never find a place in playing XI of the team.

Deshmukh was currently Superintendent Excise and Customs in Mumbai, known as GST and customs in the current scenario. He had a great career at the junior level cricket, where he has the credit of smashing seven straight tons while plying his trade for Pune University during the All-India Inter-University tournament.

“He scored three hundreds – 183, 130 and 110 – in five innings under my captaincy for the Maharashtra Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy in November 1986. He was a hard-hitting batsman. We grew up together,” his close friend, Abhijit Deshpande, ex-Maharashtra Ranji player told The Times of India.

Though he never got a chance to land in the playing XI of Mumbai, he was a talented and gifted cricketer, Deshmukh’s friend stated. His death is also a message to all the people that we shouldn’t take the disease lightly and take every possible measure to prevent the consequences.

He was a gifted, talented cricketer: Sachin Deshmukh’s close friend

“He was a gifted, talented cricketer. He used to tell me that Madhav Mantri used to like him a lot. Unfortunately, though, he never got a chance to play for Mumbai,” said Ramesh Vagze, a close friend of Deshmukh and former managing committee member of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

“His death is a message to us that no one should take this disease lightly. He had a fever but refused to get himself admitted to the hospital. He was detected with COVID nine days ago,” he added.

After his great show for Pune University, he was featured in the All-Indian Universities team against the visiting West Indies. For his brilliant batting show, he was referred to as ‘Mini Gavaskar’ in local cricket.