Former India cricketer V B Chandrasekhar committed suicide over debts: Police

Former India opener and national selector VB Chandrasekhar committed suicide over debts, the police said here on Friday, ruling out speculation that he died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

According to a senior police official, Chandrasekhar ended his life by hanging himself at his house in the city on Thursday evening due to debts, a day after it was reported that his death was the result of a cardiac arrest.

"He was under a lot of stress due to the debts incurred," the police official added.

The former Indian opener owned a team (VB Kanchi Veerans) in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, the fourth edition of which concluded on Thursday.

"He was under a lot of stress due to debts but it has also come to light that his health was deteriorating and he had become very frail," a source said.

"The Tamil Nadu cricket fraternity is in a state of shock as he always shared a close relationship with former BCCI President N Srinivasan. He was instrumental in getting M S Dhoni to Srinivasan's IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings," the source added.

The right-hander, who was only six days short of his 58th birthday, is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Chandrasekhar played seven ODIs between 1988 and 1990, scoring only 88 runs, but at the domestic level, he was prolific for a few seasons, aggregating 4,999 runs in 81 games with a highest score of 237 not out.

A qualified engineer, VB, as he was popularly known in cricketing circles, was a member of the state team that won the Ranji Trophy in 1987-'88.

The cricketing fraternity across the country was shocked to learn about Chandrasekhar's death.

The Indian cricket board condoled his death and posted on its Twitter handle (@BCCI): "BCCI regrets to inform that former India opener VB Chandrasekhar is no more. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and his fans."
Kumble wrote: "Terrible news...VB...too soon. Shocking! Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends."
IPL team Chennai Super Kings, for which Chandrasekhar was director-operations and a selector, said Chandrasekhar was "one of the main architects behind CSKs strong foundation and brand of cricket."