Team India wears black arm band as mark of respect to Rajesh Sawant

The members of team India were seen wearing black arm bands during the 2nd T20I against England at Nagpur. The black band was in memory of late Rajesh Sawant, the India U19 trainer. The Indian team showed their respect with the band. Earlier on the day, Sawant was found dead in his hotel room. He was expected to report at the training camp on January 30 to help the U19 players prepare for their ODI fixtures against England U19s. The entire team was busy training on Sunday and it was then that the management realised that Rajesh Sawant was absent for the session. The management expected him to report on Sunday morning as well.

He didn’t report to the team management and once he missed the schedule someone was sent to check for him and when they reached his hotel room Sawant was found unconscious, it was later confirmed that he was dead. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) got into action and joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary has asked Ratnakar Shetty to reach the spot and get more details.

Rajesh Sawant was without a doubt one of the best trainers in Indian domestic circuit and was thus handed the responsibility with the U19 team as a part of coach Rahul Dravid’s staff. He had in the past worked at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru with junior players. As far as international experience is concerned Sawant held the position of the Afghanistan team trainer as well. The entire team India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are all in the state of deep shock after the sudden demise.

The BCCI CEO Rahul Johri quoted his sadness about the demise in a conversation with PTI. “It’s a very unfortunate development. We are still in shock. Today when the boys left for practice, after reaching the stadium, it was found that Rajesh was not with the team. It was discovered that he had passed away in his hotel room,” BCCI CEO Rahul Johri quoted.

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After preliminary investigation cardiac arrest is reported to be the reason for his death. But Manojkumar Sharma Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Police said the exact reason of his death will be ascertained only after post-mortem.