Desh Prem Azad,Kapil Dev’s coach,dies at 75

Expressing his sadness,Azad’s friend and PCA secretary M P Pandove,who has played cricket alongside Azad,said,“Although he was 75,he was very young at heart. We used to talk on the phone almost every day. He was at the PCA stadium a few days back and we had a long chat. It is hard to believe that he is no more. I have lost a good friend. Despite his illness,he was very active on the ground and keen on giving his piece of mind to the budding cricketers.”

Azad trained players like Kapil Dev,Ashok Malhotra,Chetan Sharma and Yograj Singh in the late 70s and brought Chandigarh on the international map. He also ran a cricket academy at St Stephen’s School,Sector 45,from 2006 to 2012. He was also associated with the Pace Academy at Sector 17 Stadium in the 1990s and played a vital role in the development of cricketers like Harbhajan Singh and Venugopal Rao. Azad was also one of the founding members of the Chandigarh Golf Association and played a key role in its development.

Kapil Dev will be unable to attend the cremation and would attend the Chautha ceremony.