Former India cricketer VB Chandrasekhar commits suicide

Former Indian cricketer and Tamil Nadu opener, VB Chandrasekhar (57), was found dead at his home at Mylapore in Chennai and police have confirmed it as a suicide. According to police he was found hanging from a ceiling fan by the family late on Thursday night. The body, recovered after breaking open the door, had been shifted to the Royapettah Government Hospital for autopsy. He had not left any suicide note, police added.

Family sources said Chandrasekhar who went up to his room upstairs in the evening after having tea with others in the house, did not turn up for long and when they knocked at the door, it was locked from inside. On opening the window, they saw him hanging from the ceiling fan. Earlier, it was said that he had died of a massive cardiac arrest.

Of late, he was very depressed over financial losses incurred on account of running the VB Kanchi Veerans, a team in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, modelled on the line of the IPL. The former cricketer was also running a cricket coaching centre in the city.

“He was in neck deep debt, having invested Rs 3 crore in the TNPL team, VB Kanchi Veerans. He had even pledged his house as a surety and recently, the bank had issued a notice for recovery and he was depressed since then,” an investigating official said.

He had a special friendship with cricketing legend Rahul Dravid, whose sons used to visit his coaching centre.

The BCCI and many former cricketers and current players have condoled the death.