Former India cricketer VB Chandrasekhar took his own life at his residence at Mylapore in Chennai on Thursday, according to police.
Chandrasekhar was 57, and said to have suffered losses in his cricket-related businesses. He owned a team VB Kanchi Veerans in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and also ran the VB Cricket Academy in Chennai.
"He was having tea with his family at 5.30 before going into his room, where he ended his life by hanging. His wife had to break open the door and take him to the hospital, but he passed away. There was no suicide note. He was under financial stress. He had accrued a lot of debt and received a bank notice recently. For now, police have booked a case of unnatural death," investigating inspector Senthil Murugan told Cricketnext.
Chandrasekhar played an active role in the TNPL season that ended on Thursday; his team Veerans qualified for the final four. He was also an active commentator for the tournament.
Chandrasekhar is survived by his wife and two daughters.
He played for India in seven ODIs, with a knock of 53 being his best score.
He also served as a national selector for a brief period and had been part of the Tamil Nadu team that won the Ranji Trophy in 1988.
He scored 160 in the quarter-finals against Uttar Pradesh and 89 in the final against Railways before following that up with a 56-ball fourth-innings century in the Irani Trophy against Rest of India, at the time the fastest ton in first-class cricket by an Indian. He scored a total of 4999 runs at 43.09 in first-class cricket.
He was also the manager of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings for the first three years and was a crucial part of the think tank that brought MS Dhoni into the setup and built a strong core around him.
NOTE:
A few suicide helplines in India:
Aasra: 9820466726
http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html
Tamil Nadu:
State health department suicide helpline number - 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050
Telangana:
Telangana government suicide prevention toll-free number - 104
Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001
SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)
Karnataka:
Sahai: 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222
Kerala:
Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530
Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Andhra Pradesh:
Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930
Roshni -
Helpline 1: 9166202000
Helpline 2: 9127848584