MUMBAI: Veteran All India Radio cricket commentator Suresh Saraiya passed away yesterday evening after suffering from heart attack.
It is learned that Saraiya, 76, was admitted in a South Mumbai hospital. “He was very meticulous and well prepared. He would get excited one week before a test match; cricket was his life. He cried on the first day of the first test between India and South Africa at Durban in November 1992. He said he never thought a person from Gujarat would have the privilege of starting the commentary in a first Test match between India and South Africa. He was a good man,” said noted radio and television commentator Harsha Bhogle.
He is survived by daughter Neeta. The funeral is scheduled for Friday.
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With a career lasting over four decades, the veteran commented on over 100 test matches apart from World Cups, ODIs and domestic tournaments in India.
Saraiya, a college-level cricketer, made his AIR commentary debut in 1965 alongside Indian cricket stalwarts Vijay Merchant and Dicky Rutnagar. He also commented with the likes of Devraj Puri, Sardindu Sanyal, Indernarayan Premnarayan and Madhav Mantri.
AIR, ABC, Australia and Radio New Zealand amongst others have used his services for close to 150 ODIs and four World Cup finals. His last match as a commentator was between India and West Indies in Mumbai in 2011.
After retiring as commentator, he served as PRO in Central Bank of India. He also wrote cricket columns in Gujarati dailies like ‘Jam E Jamshed’, ‘Janshakti’, ‘Janmabhoomi’ and ‘Pravasi’ for more than 25 years.
