Former Indian opener, coach and curator Sudhir Naik passed away
Sudhir Naik, the former opening batsman who played three Tests for India in 1974, died at a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday after a brief illness. Sources in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) have confirmed his death. He was 78 and is survived by a daughter. An MCA source, who regularly monitors his health, told PTI, “Recently he had a fall on the bathroom floor and hit his head after which he was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai. He went into a coma and never recovered.”
Naik was a highly respected figure in the Mumbai cricket world and a Ranji Trophy winning captain. Under his leadership, the team won the Ranji title in the 1970–71 season. Naik’s leadership was greatly appreciated as Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy that season without stars like Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai and Ashok Mankad. When the 1972 Ranji season began, Naik was dropped from the playing XI as the main batsmen were back in the team. He made his debut in the Birmingham Test on the tour of England in 1974 where he scored his only fifty in a second innings defeat scoring 77 runs.
He played 85 first-class matches and scored 4376 runs at an average of over 35, including seven centuries including a double century. Naik played an active role as a coach. He played a big role in Zaheer Khan’s career as he brought him to play cricket in Mumbai and provided him with the required experience. He was also the chairman of the Mumbai selection committee. In later years he worked as curator of the Wankhede Stadium for free.
