Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has directed the board to immediately release INR 1 crore for former Indian cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad's cancer treatment on Sunday, July 14.
Gaekwad has been battling blood cancer and currently receiving treatment at King's Hospital in London. Former Indian cricketers, including Kapil Dev, Sandeep Patil, Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Ravi Shastri and others have earlier appealed to BCCI to allocate funds for Anshuman Gaekwad for his medical expenses.
The 1983 World Cup-winning team was involved in getting funds for Gaekwad's cancer treatment. After several appeals to the BCCI, the board decided to release INR 1 crore for his necessary medical expenses for cancer treatment.
In a statement released by BCCI, the board announced aid of INR 1 crore for Anshuman Gaekwad who is battling blood cancer. Jay Shah also spoke to former India cricketer's family and assured all the necessary assistance in this hour of crisis.
Anshuman Gaekwad's blood cancer was revealed by his former teammate Sandeep Patil in his Midday column. This came when BCCI awarded a cash prize of INR 125 crore to Team India players, who played a crucial role in help the Men in Blue win the T20 World Cup 2024 title by defeating South Africa in the Final in Barbados on July 29.
Former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar too spoke to BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar, who committed to look into the requests.
'It is a sad and very depressing': Kapil Dev
The 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev said that he felt pain to see the condition of Anshuman Gaekwad and urged everyone to pray for his recovery.
"It is a sad and very depressing. I am in pain because I have played alongside Anshu and can't bear to see him in this state. No one should suffer. I know the Board will take care of him." Kapil Dev told Sports Star
"He took blows on his face and chest when standing up to some of the ferocious fast bowlers. Now is the time for us to stand up for him. I am sure our cricket fans will not fail him. They should pray for his recovery." he added.
Anshuman Gaekwad played 40 ODIs and 15 Tests and scored 1985 runs and 269 runs, respectively. Gaekwad's highest individual Test score came against Pakistan, where he scored an unbeaten 201 in Jalandhar and spent 671 minutes at the crease.
