Tragedy struck India’s domestic cricket when Himachal Pradesh bowler Sidharth Sharma died in a Vadodara hospital after a short illness, a senior Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) official confirmed. The 28-year-old pace bowler was part of the Himachal Pradesh side that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021-22 and had played six first-class, six List A and one T20 match for the state with 33 wickets to his name .
“All of us at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association are devastated. Sidharth left us on Thursday night. He was on a ventilator for the past few days. He was in the squad during our final round in Vadodara against Baroda.
“Before the match, he started vomiting and had problems urinating and had to be immediately admitted to a local hospital. His condition worsened in the following days,” HPCA secretary Avnish Parmar told PTI.
Sidharth is survived by his parents and a brother who lives abroad.
“His last rituals were performed today after his brother arrived from Canada. We have lost a very sincere player, who would have served the state for a long time,” said Parmar.
In fact, the last game he played this season was at the Eden Gardens against Bengal on 20-23 December 2022 and he took his first five wicket haul – 5/69 and seven scalps in total. He was jointly the third highest wicket taker of the season with 12 victims from two matches.
“At the start of the season when the physio tested every player, Sidharth was declared match fit. The next match after Bengal was in Dehradun against Uttarakhand. He was rested as he had complained of unease. He was chosen in the squad for Baroda match and got sick before the game,” said Parmar.
Sidharth’s death was also condoled by Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
“I am extremely saddened by the news of the passing of Himachal Pradesh’s Vijay Hazare winning team member Sidarth Sharma. I pray to God to grant peace to the departed soul and may his loved ones be given the strength to bear this great loss,” the Chief Minister tweeted.
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