The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday decided to release INR 1 crore as financial assistance for the treatment of former India cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad, who is battling blood cancer at a medical facility in London. BCCI’s decision came just days after emotional appeals from former teammates Kapil Dev and Sandip Patil.

“Mr. Jay Shah has instructed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to release ₹1 crore with immediate effect to provide financial assistance to India’s veteran cricketer Mr Anshuman Gaekwad, who is battling cancer,” BCCI apex council said in a statement.

Notably, Gaekwad’s condition was brought to light by Patil earlier this month when he revealed that the son of former India captain D K Gaekwad is currently undergoing treatment for blood cancer at the King’s College Hospital in London.

Patil also revealed that Gaekwad himself told him about the need for financial assistance, before former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar spoke to BCCI treasurer Ashish Selar regarding the same. Later, 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil urged BCCI for financial help and added that he had been looking to arrange funds for Gaekwad with the help of other former cricketers in Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Ravi Shastri and Kirti Azad.

“Shah has also spoken to Mr Gaekwad’s family to take stock of the situation and extend support. The board stands by Gaekwad’s family in this hour of crisis and will do whatever is essential for Mr Gaekwad’s quick recovery The BCCI will continue to monitor Mr Gaekwad’s progress and is confident that he will come out of this phase strongly,” the board’s statement added.

The 71-year-old Gaekwad played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India between 1975 and 1987. He scored 1985 runs in the longest format, laced with two hundreds and 10 fifties, and amassed 269 runs in the 50-over format.