India Under-19 cricketer shot dead

Gagandeep Singh, a left-arm spinner who represented India Under-19 earlier this year, has been accidentally shot dead by unknown gunmen in a hotel in Meerut. Gagandeep, 18, was in the city representing Uttar Pradesh in the CK Nayudu Under-22 tournament.

He was reportedly at a hotel with two team-mates on Friday night when a fight broke out between the hotel owner and the gunmen, who started firing at the owner. A bullet hit Gagandeep, killing him on the spot. The owner was also killed by the gunmen.

Gagandeep had toured Australia six months ago with the Indian Under-19 team. He had played one Test and a one-dayer in that series. He had worked his way through the age-group levels in Uttar Pradesh, representing them in U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels.

Gyanendra Pandey, the UP coach, told PTI that Gagandeep was set to be selected for the state Ranji team. "He had been performing so well that the selection committee was keen to have him in the Ranji team," said Pandey. "His death is a huge loss to not just Uttar Pradesh cricket but also Indian cricket as a whole. We have lost a potential star. I couldn't believe when I was first told about it. We had lots of hopes from Gagandeep."