| Player: | Raj Singh |
DateLine: 12th September 2009
Former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur breathed his last after a prolonged illness at the age of 73. A former President of the Cricket Club of India for 13 years before he took ill last year, Dungarpur died at his residence this morning. The funeral will be held in Dungarpur tomorrow, according to sources close to him.
Born on December 19, 1935 as the youngest son of Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, the ruler of Dungarpur, he played Ranji Trophy for Rajasthan for 16 years, between 1955 and 1971, as a medium-fast bowler. The gangling bowler captured 206 wickets in 86 matches and rubbed shoulders with stalwarts like Vijay Manjrekar, Hanumant Singh and Salim Durrani. But he never played for the country in Tests.
Dungarpur managed the Indian teams on its tours of England in 1982, 1986 and was the manager of the squad that toured Pakistan in 1984-85 and 2005-06.
It was Dungarpur who was instrumental in amending the rules of the CCI to allow Sachin Tendulkar use its dressing room as a 14-year-old and smoothen things for the champion batsman very early in his glittering career. He headed the selection panel that chose Tendulkar in the team captained by Krish Srikkanth for the tour to Pakistan in 1989-90.
It was also a selection panel with Dungarpur at its helm that elevated Mohammed Azharuddin as the captain of the Indian team.