Former Test opener Parkar passes away

He was admitted to the General Medical Department of the hospital 20 days back for jaundice, according to Dr Alok Sharma, Head of Department Neurosurgery. He suffered a hepatitic failure and died due to cardiac arrest at 8.15 p.m.

Parkar, known for his exceptional fielding skills, played in two Tests under Ajit Wadekar against Tony Lewis8217; visiting England side in 1972-73 and made 80 runs in four innings averaging 20 with 35 as his highest in the second innings of his debut in Delhi.

He was in a persistent vegetative state PVS since December 31, 1996 when his scooter was knocked down by a bus in south Mumbai and all efforts to bring him back to normalcy proved futile.

His first class career, from a Ranji debut for Mumbai in 1970-71, continuedtill 1980-81. He scored 2862 runs in 52 Ranji matches at an average of 38.16 including six hundreds and 13 fifties.

His highest score in the National championship was 197 against Hyderabad 1974-75.

His funeral will take place tomorrow morning.