Former Mumbai all-rounder Dodu no more

Suresh Deobhakta

Former Mumbai Ranji cricketer Suresh Deobhakta, 83, passed away on Thursday morning, according to information circulated to Mumbai's cricketing fraternity. Deobhakta's solitary Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai was against Baroda in 1971-72.

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Fondly known as Dodu (meaning pumpkin because he was a plump child), the all-rounder was battling loneliness for a long time. His contemporaries reckoned he had the talent and ability to get a longer run in domestic cricket. "I was given one [Ranji] chance and then they said, buzz off. We were bowled out for 129 in the first innings at Moti Bagh Stadium on a winter's day in 1972. There was a lot of dew on the pitch and Baroda pacers Anthony Fernandes and Narayan Satham ran through our side. However, we bowled them out for 42 and fared better in our second innings to win comfortably," Deobhakta told mid-day in 2017.

Deobhakta's toil involved leaving his Agashi home, five kms from Virar, in the wee hours of the morning to reach various Mumbai venues for inter-club and inter-office cricket matches.