BCCI production crew wears black armbands on passing of senior cameraman

BCCI’s senior cameraman Kamalanadimuthu Thiruvalluvan, popularly known as Thiru, passed away on February 23 in Bengaluru. As per reports, he was in charge of Camera 5 during the opening day of the Women’s Premier League 2024 and worked completely during the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn’t disclosed the cause of death and offered condolences to his family.

Meanwhile, the production crew in Ranchi, where India are currently hosting England for the ongoing fourth Test, were seen wearing black armbands to pay homage to Thiru. The BCCI shared the video on their social media handles and fans joined to pay their homage.

“The BCCI production crew wore black armbands in memory of Thiru who passed away yesterday. Our heart goes out to his near and dear ones and the BCCI offers it's condolences to his family,” BCCI mentioned.

Absolutely shocking news: Harsha Bhogle

Senior broadcaster Harsha Bhogle also expressed his shock and shared a fond memory of Thiru on his X (formerly Twitter) account. He mentioned that when cameramen from India weren’t highly rated, Thiru ensured he made the game lively through his lenses.

“Absolutely shocking news. The ever smiling Thiru was a top man. At a time when Indian cameramen weren't yet rated, Thiru made the mid-wicket camera all his own and was excellent. Everytime we met, I would sing out his full name and he would offer his toothy smile in return. Terrible news,” Bhogle tweeted.

Notably, Thiru was part of the revolution which saw cricket in India grow rapidly. From the likes of Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli to Harmanpreet Kaur, he has seen players up close, captured their glorious moments and gave the fans sheer joy with his vision. 

Speaking of the late cameraman's last match, Mumbai picked up a nail-biting victory over Delhi. With five runs needed to win off the last ball, Sajeevan Sajana smacked it out of the ground to win it for her side. With this victory, the defending champions once again started on a winning note.

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