Former Maharashtra captain Bhalekar no more

Former Maharashtra Ranji Trophy team captain Raju Bhalekar, who played as a middle-order batsman for more than a dozen years, died in Pune on Saturday.

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Ranji Trophy team captain Raju Bhalekar, who played as a middle-order batsman for more than a dozen years, died in Pune on Saturday.

He was 66 and is survived by wife, a son and US-based daughter.

Bhalekar, a stylish batsman who amassed 3,877 runs in 74 First Class games averaging just under 40 with a highest of 207 not out, had undergone a heart bypass surgery last week. He died of multiple organ failure, it was learnt.

The former cricketer started his First Class career in the early 1970s and played till mid-1980s.

In all, he struck seven hundreds. Bhalekar also played in eleven 50-over domestic games.