Rahul Dravid pays tribute after senior Indian cricket writer dies during Border-Gavaskar Trophy

A senior sports journalist of an English daily died in Indore of a heart attack, an official of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) said on Tuesday.

S Dinakar, 57, senior deputy editor (sports) of The Hindu who had covered the India-Australia third Test match in Indore, was found unconscious in a hotel room in Vijay Nagar area on Monday.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, an MPCA official said.

According to doctors, a heart attack is the prima facie cause of the journalist's death.

Dinakar had covered the third Test match between India and Australia in Indore as part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy event, and was scheduled to leave for Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning for the fourth and final Test starting March 9.

Indian coach Rahul Dravid offered condolences to Dinakar's family.

“On behalf of the Indian team, I would like to express my deep sorrow and regret at the passing away of veteran sports journalist S Dinakar,” the Indian coach said in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

“I know for a lot of you, he would have been a close friend, a colleague. Our thoughts are with all of you, with his friends, his family, his colleagues.

"At a personal level, I knew Dinakar for a really long time. He was always someone who deeply and passionately cared for the game in the country, cared for cricketers. On behalf of the team and personally as well, it’s a loss.”

Former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale told PTI, "Dinakar spoke to me on Monday about the aggressive playing style of the cricket team of Holkars, the erstwhile rulers of Indore".

He said Dinakar was supposed to visit him for an interview but later decided to speak over the phone.

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