Sport

Hazare laid to rest

VADODARA, DEC. 19. Legendary cricketer Vijay Hazare, who died on Saturday after a prolonged illness, was laid to rest in the Methodist Church premises here on Sunday.

His former team-mates Chandu Borde and D. K. Gaekwad, selection committee chairman Kiran More, former chairman of the selection committee Anshuman Gaekwad, BCCI joint secretary Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI official Gautam Dasgupta and former BCCI secretary J. Y. Lele were present on the occasion.

PM's tribute

Tributes poured in. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said: ``Cricket lovers in India and the world over will receive with deep sadness the news of the passing away of Padmashree Vijay Hazare. I join his admirers and fans in paying tribute to the first captain to lead our cricket team to victory.

``He did so at a time when India had not yet made its mark internationally, and it is through the contributions of pioneering sportsmen such as Hazare that our cricketers are amongst the best in the world,'' Mr. Singh said.

``I'm sure Hazare believed that he had lived a full and satisfying life, watching the cricketers he had nurtured and inspired taking the game to new heights,'' he said.

Great loss: Dutt

The Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Dutt, expressed profound grief. ``The Indian cricket suffered a great loss with his demise," he said.

More said Baroda owes a lot of its achievements to Hazare and "except for one Ranji Trophy a couple of years ago, Baroda had won all its trophies in Hazare's presence."

An icon: Contractor

Former India captain Nari Contractor said Hazare was an icon. Contractor said he learnt a lot of things from the great man. ``I am at a loss for words at this moment, but I wish he completed his century in life.

"As the chairman of selectors, he (Hazare) never tried to impose his thoughts on others. He always listened to the captain's point of view before choosing the team. He was that kind of a man,'' Contractor added.

A gentleman: Dungarpur

Former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur said that Hazare was one of the five best batsmen India has produced and a ``thorough gentleman.''

``Hazare was one of the most respected batsmen after the II World war and I would say, along with C. K. Nayudu, Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, the Baroda batsman was one of the top five batsmen the country has produced,'' Dungarpur said.

``In fact, just last week I went to Vadodara to confer the CCI's Lifetime Achievement award and he was on artificial support system and I had to handover the award to his wife,'' he added.

``Personally it is a big blow to the game in general and Indian cricket in particular,'' Dungarpur said.

A patriot: Borde

Borde said: ``Hazare was a human being par excellence who had no enemies on or off the field.''

``He was one of the finest batsmen I have ever come across. He always middled the ball and never edged it,'' Borde said and added he was fortunate to have played alongside him for Baroda from 1955 to 1960.

``Hazare was very respected, a great human being, a great patriot who played with the heart on his sleeve,'' he added.

TNCA's tribute

Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's secretary, C. R. Vijayaraghavan, said: ``His demise leaves a great void in Indian cricket.''

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