Ex-India cricketer urges BCCI to save Anshuman Gaekwad's life after announcement of INR 125 crore prize money for India

Former India cricketer Sandeep Patil has urged the BCCI to save the life of Anshuman Gaekwad after the board announced a massive prize money of INR 125 crore for the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team. It is to be noted that Gaekwad is currently battling blood cancer for the last one year. Patil said that he visited him at the King's College Hospital in London.

Patil also said mentioned Gaekwad had informed him of the need for funds for his treatment. Both Sandeep Patil and Dilip Vengsarkar have already spoken to BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar regarding this issue.

“Anshu (Anshuman Gaekwad) told me that he needs funds for his treatment. Soon, Dilip Vengsarkar and me spoke to BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar. In fact, our calls were made to Ashish Shelar after seeing Anshu at King's College Hospital in London. Ashish Shelar instantly said he would look into ours and other former cricketers' request for funds," Patil said in a column on Mid-Day.

“I'm sure he will facilitate this and, at the risk of sounding macabre, save Anshu's life. Any cricketer from any country should be helped by his Board, but Anshu's case must be taken on priority and treated as paramount,” Patil added.

Also read: Sai Sudharsan, Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma replace T20 World Cup-winning players in India squad for first two T20Is vs Zimbabwe

Sachin Tendulkar was most successful during Anshuman Gaekwad's term - Sandeep Patil

Patil also mentioned Anshuman Gaekwad's role when Sachin Tendulkar was at his peak in the late 1990s.

"He coached India in another era but the current players have been inspired by the cricketers he coached during his successful stint. "I'm no stats man, but I think Sachin Tendulkar was most successful during Anshu's term. Not for a moment I'm suggesting that all those runs came from Anshu's blade, but he was there when Sachin needed all the moral support to play his natural game and that was to blast away. He was also a national selector in the 1990s and currently the president of the Indian Crickets' Association," Patil stated.

Anshuman Gaekwad had an international career spanning 12 years from 1975-1987. He played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India. He was a giant in domestic cricket where he played over 200 first-class games and scored over 12000 runs.

Anshuman Gaekwad has been India's head coach twice

Gaekwad has also been India's head coach twice. His first tenure was between 1997 and 1999 while the second tenure was in 2000. In his first tenure, Sachin Tendulkar was the captain and the team was in a state of transition.

He faced an even tougher task in his second stint, as it was after the famous match-fixing scandal. Anil Kumble created the record of 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan when Gaekwad was India's head coach. India won the famous home Test series against Australia 2-1 and reached the final of the ICC Knockout in 2000.

Recently, India won the T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating South Africa by 7 runs in the final. It was a historic win for the Men in Blue, who won an ICC trophy after a gap of 11 years. After India lifted the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the BCCI announced a massive prize money of INR 125 Crore for its players.