Former Mumbai cricketer Sudhakar Adhikari no more

Sudhakar Adhikari

Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy opening batsman Sudhakar Adhikari passed away in Mumbai on Friday, aged 82.

Adhikari was part of the Mumbai team in four Ranji Trophy finals - v Mysore in 1959-60 and v Rajasthan in 1961-62, 1963-64 and 1965-66. In 65 first-class games, he amassed 3,779 runs aided by 11 centuries.

He smashed 173 for Mumbai in the 1962-63 Irani Cup game against Rest of India at the Brabourne Stadium. In a souvenir to commemorate Mumbai's 500th Ranji Trophy game in 2017, cricketer Hemant Kenkre wrote: "As youngsters toiling in the maidans, we were often told the story of Sudhakar Adhikari who played a Ranji fixture against Maharashtra on the day he got married!

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"The dashing opening batsman, who scored hundreds against all visiting teams, went directly from the wedding pandal to the match and back to the venue of his wedding reception in the evening. He knew he could not let go the precious piece of turf that he had earned."