Saurashtra batsman Avi Barot dies at 29 after cardiac arrest

Ahmedabad, October 16

Saurashtra batter Avi Barot, a former India Under-19 captain and a member of the Ranji Trophy-winning team in 2020, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest at only 29 years old. Barot, who also represented Haryana and Gujarat in his career, died on Friday while being taken to a hospital after he felt unwell at his home in Ahmedabad. He is survived by his mother and wife, who is expecting the couple’s first child.

Barot played 38 First-Class matches, 38 List A matches and 20 domestic T20 games. He was a wicketkeeper-batsman and scored 1,547 runs in First-Class matches, 1,030 runs in List A games and 717 runs in T20s. A right-handed batter, he competed in a local tournament only last week.

“Avi was at home when he felt unwell. He was being rushed to the hospital and breathed his last inside the ambulance. He was a very lively boy and seeing his talent, I brought him to Saurashtra from Haryana where he started his First-Class career,” Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) president Jaydev Shah said. Barot’s father had passed away at age 42, added Shah.

Barot was part of the Saurashtra that won the Ranji Trophy after defeating West Bengal in the final in 2020. Opening the innings, he had scored 54 and 39 in that match. He was also part of the Saurashtra team that reached the Ranji Trophy final in 2015-16 and 2018-19.

He was the India U-19 captain in 2011 after striking four centuries and three half-centuries in the Cooch Behar Trophy for Gujarat, steering them to the title.

Earlier this year, he grabbed attention with a 122-run knock off just 53 balls during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Goa. — PTI