India's U-19 trainer found dead in hotel room in Mumbai

What’s the story?

The Indian Under 19 cricket team’s trainer Rajesh Sawant was found dead in his hotel room in Mumbai this morning under mysterious circumstances. He was supposed to report to training ahead of India’s first ODI against England, but since he did not appear, people began looking for him after which he was found dead in his room.

“What I have gathered so far is he did not report for team activities in the morning, so people started looking for him and eventually he was found to have been passed away in his room,” Amitabh Choudhary, BCCI joint secretary, told Sportstar.

“I have asked Prof. Shetty (Ratnakar Shetty, general manager – game development) to visit the site and keep me updated,” he continued.

In case you didn’t know...

Sawant had served with the Afghanistan cricket team before coming to India. He then worked at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore after which he took up the role of the trainer of the Indian U-19 and India A sides. He also worked with the Rest of India side which defeated Gujarat in the Irani Cup a few days ago.

The heart of the matter

Sawant had a good rapport with the U-19 members and with Rahul Dravid who is the coach of the side. He was considered to be one of the best trainers the team ever had and was extremely professional in his work as well.

Considering that he coached India A earlier this month, he worked along with the likes of experienced Indian cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni as well.

What’s next?

The Indian U-19 side are set to face England for a 5 match ODI series which will begin on January 30th at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai after which they will host the Englishmen for two four-day tests.

Sportskeeda’s take

It is extremely unfortunate and heartbreaking to lose one of the best trainers India has produced. His absence will surely be felt in the dressing room. To honour his contributions to Indian cricket, the Indian U-19 team should probably wear black bands for their match against England tomorrow and observe a minute of silence as well.