Former India opener VB Chandrasekhar dies aged 57

VB Chandrasekhar, the former Tamil Nadu and India batsman, died in Chennai on Thursday. He was six days short of his 58th birthday.

A hard-hitting opening batsman, Chandrasekhar was a key member of the Tamil Nadu team that won the state's second Ranji Trophy title in 1987-88, scoring 160 in the quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh and 89 in the final against Railways. He followed that up with a 56-ball fourth-innings century in the Irani Trophy against Rest of India, at the time the fastest hundred in first-class cricket by an Indian.

Those performances earned Chandrasekhar a place in India's limited-overs squad. His international career lasted just seven ODIs, though, in which he averaged 12.57 and he made one half-century, a 77-ball 53 against New Zealand in a 53-run win in Indore.

Following a first-class career that brought him 4999 runs at 43.09, Chandrasekhar served stints as the South Zone representative in the national selection panel from 2004 to 2006, a time of considerable churn in Indian cricket with John Wright's exit and Greg Chappell's hiring as the national coach. He was also cricket manager of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, and made the winning bid of USD 1.5 million for MS Dhoni in the inaugural IPL auction. He served as Tamil Nadu's coach in 2012-13. He was also noted for his sharp wit as a TV commentator. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, in a press release, expressed condolences over his "sudden and sad demise". Chandrasekhar's funeral will take place on August 17 in Chennai.*

His demise was mourned by players and administrators.

Very sad to hear of the passing away of VB Chandrasekhar. Have fond memories of him. My condolences to his family.

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 16, 2019

BCCI regrets to inform that former India opener VB Chandrasekhar is no more. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and his fans.

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 15, 2019

Terrible news...VB...too soon. Shocking! Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 15, 2019

Deeply saddened and shocked to know about the demise of my good friend VB Chandrasekhar. Heartfelt condolences to his family. May his soul RIP.

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 15, 2019

Sad day and a big loss to the cricket family. Rest In Peace VB. https://t.co/4KSlDduA9V

— Stephen Fleming (@SPFleming7) August 16, 2019

Extremely sad & shocked to hear about the passing away of VB Chandrasekhar sir. His consistent efforts made it possible to set the right foundation of the CSK team. He always encouraged & believed in us since very beginning. My deepest condolences to the family. pic.twitter.com/g2mtq8wRos

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) August 15, 2019

Shell shocked to hear the demise of V B Chandrasekar sir. My deepest condolences to the family.

— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) August 15, 2019

SHocked and saddened to hear about VB Chandrasekhar's sad demise. He was a gem who contributed to the game with distinction in various roles. Affable, kind, patient and persistent. Gone too early. Will miss him. #RIPVB

— Anirudh Chaudhry (@AnirudhChaudhry) August 15, 2019

* 0740am GMT, August 16, 2019. The copy was updated to include the statement from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association