Former BCCI general manager MV Sridhar dies of cardiac arrest aged 51

New Delhi: Former BCCI General Manager Dr MV Sridhar, who had recently resigned from his position, passed away on Monday at his Hyderabad residence following a massive cardiac arrest. He was 51 and was in charge of BCCI’s cricket operations till last month for nearly four years. It has been learnt that as he was getting ready to have lunch, Sridhar succumbed to a massive heart attack. [caption id=“attachment_4184173” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of former BCCI General Manger MV Sridhar. AFP[/caption] Sridhar was one of the pillars of Hyderabad cricket during the 1990’s and was also one of their better captains. With Mohammed Azharuddin busy on national duty for most of the 90’s, it was Sridhar and Abdul Azeem, who shouldered the burden of Hyderabad batting during that phase. A right-handed opening batsman, Sridhar played 97 first class matches for Hyderabad, where he scored 6,701 runs, with 21 centuries and 27 half tons from 1988-89 to 1999-00. He also played in 35 List A matches, and scored 930 runs at 29.06, with five half-centuries and a highest of 78 not out. He has the distinction of the third-highest individual score in the history of the Ranji Trophy, hitting 366 against Andhra in January 1994. That innings was part of a Hyderabad total of 944/6 declared, still the highest in Ranji history. Only BB Nimbalkar, who hit 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in 1948-49 and Sanjay Manjrekar, who made 377 for Bombay against Hyderabad in 1990-91, have had higher individual scores than Sridhar in the competition. Being a top level first-class player helped Sridhar understand the demands of a professional cricketer. Sridhar, on many occasions, was BCCI’s ‘Go To Man’ in crisis situations. His role as an administrative manager in Australia during the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds was laudable. Sridhar was there throughout the hearing and was the link between the team and the board. In July this year, Sridhar was sent to the West Indies by the Indian Cricket Board following Anil Kumble’s resignation, after his much-publicised differences with skipper Virat Kohli. While Sanjay Bangar handled the coaching, Sridhar was sent to the Caribbean to have the players in good frame of mind and also get a first-hand account of their requirements. Sridhar was also the secretary of the Hyderabad CA and it is this stint which was controversial with allegations of his involvement with multiple clubs. There were conflict of interest allegations levelled against him. This was the primary reason that he resigned from GM’s (Cricket Operations) post. A genial man, Sridhar or ‘Doc’, as he was fondly known in the fraternity, was always accessible regarding any cricket-related issue. With inputs from agencies.