All-rounder M J Gopalan is dead

Former India all-rounder and one of the oldest cricketers in the world M J Gopalan died at Chennai on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 97.

Gopalan, a double international who represented the country in cricket as well as hockey, was admitted to the Apollo Hospital a couple of days ago as he was suffering from pneumonia.

He passed away on Sunday morning, his family said. He had no issues and his wife predeceased him in 1981.

Gopalan played his only Test against England in Calcutta in 1934, taking one wicket and scoring 18 runs.

His first-class statistics were impressive as he took 194 wickets as a fast bowler and accumulated 2,916 runs from 78 matches. He had captained South Zone against the John Goddard-led West Indies, the first team to visit the country after Independence, in 1948-49.

In hockey, he played alongside the legendary Dhyan Chand. However, he had a greater passion for cricket and chose to go with the Indian cricket team to England in 1936 when he had the choice of playing hockey at the Berlin Olympics.