Tamil Nadu Ranji cricketer from the 1990s, Vasanth Chandrasekaran passed away this morning ( Oct.16) following a massive heart attack. He was 45.
He is survived by his father R. Chandrasekaran who played for the state in the 1960s.
His family said he had watched the IPL final last night with his father and was happy with CSK’s win.
Vasanth had a terrific Ranji trophy season in 1997-’98 scoring over 300 runs including two centuries. In 1999-2000, he played as a professional cricketer for Saurashtra in the Ranji trophy once again scoring over 300 runs in the season and topping the run list for that state. Overall, he played 22 first class matches.
Talking to Mylapore Times from Dubai, K S Viswanathan, CEO, CSK said that Vasanth was a very good cricketer with the correct technique and ability to score consistently for the team. “He came from a family of cricketers and sportsmen. I am really shocked to hear the sudden demise.”
Vasanth’s father played for almost two decades for SBI while his uncle R Prabhakar played Ranji trophy cricket for TN.
Former TN allrounder S Mahesh watched him right from the under-16 age group cricket and was part of the TN Ranji trophy team that played in 1997-98. He remembers the terrific Ranji century of Vasanth that was scored against Karnataka in Bangalore in Nov ’97.
“He scored an excellent century against a strong Karnataka side comprising Dodda Ganesh, David Johnson and Sunil Joshi. He was naturally gifted, a classy opener and one of the sweetest guys in the team.”
A couple of months later, in January 1998, Vasanth scored another century, this time against Goa. Former Ranji cricketer and now BCCI match referee J Gokulakrishnan played for Goa that season and was at the receiving end in that match facing Vasanth’s batting onslaught “He was a terrific bat, superb timer and had a lazy elegance for a right hander. He had superb hands. He was a no nonsense guy and a loner most of the time.”
Vasanth was a resident of Arun Flats, West Circular Road, Mandaveli. Chandrasekaran can be reached on 98844 36321
- Report by S. Prabhu
