BOMBAY, 10 September 2003 — The former India cricket captain Gulabrai S. Ramchand, who led India to their first ever victory over Australia, died of heart complications at Hinduja Hospital Bombay on Monday. He was 75 and is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
Ramchand was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 1 and was said to be making steady progress. But he was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit after his condition deteriorated Sunday night.
“His family members were at his bedside when the end came,” said BCCI executive secretary Sharad Diwadkar, a close friend of the former captain, the agency reported.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India had granted $4,500 to Ramchand on Saturday. The decision had come in the wake of resentment expressed by a number of former cricketers, including the legendary captain Mushtaq Ali, about the board’s indifference to their plight. Ramchand, a former Air-India employee, led India in five Tests, the most memorable being the victory over Richie Benaud’s Australians at Kanpur.
