Former Maharashtra cricketer Sunil Gudge passes away

Mumbai: Maharashtra leg-spinner Sunil Gudge passed away today at his residence in Pune following a heart attack.

"He was watching TV at home when he suffered the heart attack," according to informed sources.

Born in Pune on December 31, 1959, the leg-spinner and handy lower order batsman played 55 first class matches during his decade-and-a-half career.

Gudge, an integral part of the strong Maharashtra team of the 1980s led by Raju Balelar, Milind Gunjal and Surendra Bhave, took 110 wickets with 5 for 46 as his best from among five wickets in an innings hauls.

He also scored 1,033 runs from 61 innings with a century to boot.

Gudge was also part of the Under-22 side that played against the visiting England side at Pune in 81-82. He also played for the Board Presidents' XI against the touring Sri Lanka and West Indies teams of 86-87 and 87-88 at Gwalior and Visakhapatnam respectively.