The legendary Kapil Dev is saddened to see his former India teammate Anshuman Gaekwad battling cancer alone and has requested the BCCI to lend financial support to him. Kapil, who was Gaekwad’s teammate, revealed that he, along with several other greats of Indian cricket such as Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Ravi Shastri and Kirti Azad are scurrying around for help, looking for every means possible to generate funds for the former India coach, and believes the board will step in and become the ailing Gaekwad’s support system.
“It is a sad and very depressing. I am in pain because I have played alongside Anshu and can’t bear to see him in this state. No one should suffer. I know the Board will take care of him,” Kapil told Sportstar.
“We are not compelling anyone. Any help for Anshu will have to come from your heart. He took blows on his face and chest when standing up to some of the ferocious fast bowlers. Now is the time for us to stand up for him. I am sure our cricket fans will not fail him. They should pray for his recovery.”
The news of Gaekwad’s blood cancer was revealed by his ex-teammate Sandip Patil in his column for The Mid-Day earlier this month. Gaekwad has been fighting it for over a year and was in London for its treatment. Patil also stated that Gaekwad informed him about his need for financial support. The former India all-rounder and Vengsarkar spoke to BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar, who committed himself to look into their requests.
With several India legends finding themselves in a financial crunch at the time of need, Kapil rued the lack of a system where former greats are assisted in their time of need. Cricket back in the day was nowhere close to being as financially rewarded as it is now, which is why Kapil reckons the BCCI should set up a function that takes care of those who served the game in their time.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a system. It is great to see this generation of players make good money. It is good to see the support staff members also being paid well. In our time, the Board did not have the money. Today, it has and should take care of the senior players from the past,” stated Kapil.
“But where do they send their contributions? If a Trust is formed, they can put their money there. But we don’t have a system. There should be a Trust. I think BCCI can do that. They do look after the players, former and present.
“We are ready to contribute by donating our pension amount if the family allows us to.”
Gaekwad, 71, represented India in 40 Tests during his 12-year-long career before going on to becoming the coach of the Indian cricket team in the late 1990s. Under him, India won the famous Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah and the Delhi Test against Pakistan where Anil Kumble picked up all 10 wickets in the innings.
