Prayer meet held for Anshuman Gaekwad, several former India stars attend

Following the former Indian player and coach's demise, his family organized a prayer meet in the Sevasi area of the city of Vadodara

Legends Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev as well as BCCI secretary Jay Shah were among the attendees for a prayer meet organized on Thursday in the memory of Anshuman Gaekwad.

Gaekwad, who served Indian cricket as a player, coach and selector, succumbed to blood cancer on July 31 in Vadodara at the age of 71. He was cremated a day later at Kirti Mandir in the city with BCCI President Roger Binny, former wicket-keepers Nayan Mogia and Kiran More in the presence.

The prayer meet was organized on Thursday in the Sevasi area of Gujarat’s Vadodara city by Gaekwad’s family.

“He was my friend as well as (batting) opening partner. A day before any match, we used to sit and discuss how to tackle fast bowlers. That’s how we became friends from being partners. My connection with him will always remain intact despite his demise. I knew he was not well. But, I was hopeful he would recover,” Gavaskar told reporters.

Gaekwad represented India in 40 Test matches and 15 ODIs. He also played 205 first-class matches in a career spanning 22 years. Not only this, he was also the coach of the Indian team that finished runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.