Rahul Dravid hails departed S Dinakar’s deep passion for cricket

S Dinakar with Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai. Pic/V Ganesan

The travelling cricket media was left in a state of shock on Monday night when news filtered through of the demise of S Dinakar, the veteran cricket writer from The Hindu, in Indore, where he had reported on the third India-Australia Test. Dinakar, 57, was a popular figure in the press box and his passion for the game was unmatched, traits acknowledged by a thoughtful Rahul Dravid at Tuesday's presser here on Tuesday.

"On behalf of the Indian team, I would like to express my deep sorrow and regret at the passing away of veteran sports journalist S Dinakar," the Indian head coach said, somberly. "I know for a lot of you, he would have been a close friend, a colleague. Our thoughts are with all of you, with his friends, his family, his colleagues. At a personal level, I knew Dinakar for a really long time. He was always someone who deeply and passionately cared for the game in the country, cared for cricketers. On behalf of the team and personally as well, it's a loss."

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