Tendulkar, Kumble, Ganguly condole death of Bengal cricketer Ankit Keshri

Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble condoled the death of former Bengal Under-19 cricket captain Ankit Kesri, who died in a private city nursing home on Monday after sustaining a head injury in an on-field collision during a local game. “Saddened by the demise of Ankit Kesri. A promising career aborted by an unfortunate incident on field. May God give strength to Ankit’s family and friends to cope with this loss #RIP,” Tendulkar wrote on his social networking page Twitter. [caption id=“attachment_2204216” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Sachin Tendulkar. Getty[/caption] Kesri sustained a head injury in an on-field collision during a local game and died in a private city nursing home on Monday. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer Biswarup Dey said the 20-year-old promising East Bengal player was injured on Friday in a collision with another fielder while taking a catch during a senior knockout match against Bhowanipore. Kumble also tweeted his grief at the death. “Sad news of a young promising cricketer Ankit losing his life on field of play. May God give strength to loved ones to bear this loss!,” he wrote. Kesri was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by another cricketer, S.S. Singh, and then examined by a doctor before being rushed to a private hospital in an ambulance stationed at the Jadavpur University stadium. The opening batsman, who was also a member of the Under-23 Bengal squad this year, passed away this morning following a massive heart attack, a CAB official said. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly too condoled the tragic death of young batsman Ankit Keshri, who passed away this morning after a freak on-field collision during a Cricket Association of Bengal’s senior one-day knock-out match on April 17. “When I landed in Delhi this morning I got the news of Ankit Keshri. I knew he was in hospital, getting treatment because of a collision on the ground and from there to get to know that he is no more with us is heart-breaking and devastating. May his soul rest in peace,” Ganguly said in a condolence message. “I have been part of selection meetings where his name was often selected and everyone had high hopes about him but to lose an young talent like Ankit is beyond imagination,” said the former Bengal captain. Keshri was in hospital for the past three days and was showing signs of recovery till last evening when he was given oral food. However, in the early hours of this morning, Keshri suffered a massive cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator before he was declared dead. The 20-year-old, a talented right-hander, had captained the Bengal U-19 team in Cooch Behar Trophy and was in the 30-member India U-19 probables list for the 2014 Colts World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He was also playing for Bengal A (U-23 side) in CK Nayudu National Championship. IANS