Bengal CM pays belated visit to Roy's home

Rifat Jawaid in Calcutta

An 'apologetic' West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee paid a belated visit to the home of former Indian cricket captain Pankaj Roy on Monday evening, almost 24 hours after he had passed away.

Roy had died of a sudden cardiac arrest in Calcutta on Sunday.

Bhattacharjee, who arrived at Roy's residence at 1830 IST, apologised on behalf of his government for not attending the last rites of the legendary opener.

Speaking to rediff.com, Roy's cricketer-son Pranab said the CM spent over 15 minutes with his family. According to Pranab, Bhattacharjee said he felt guilty about not attending his father's funeral.

Pranab Roy went on to add that there was no condolence message from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

"Other than a few former and present local cricketers, including Sourav Ganguly, Arun Lal, Gopal Bose and Ashok Malhotra, who were present at the funeral, I have not received any condolence message from the BCCI or former players from outside Bengal.

"The CAB office-bearers, including Jagmohan Dalmiya [former International Cricket Council president] were present at the funeral. Saba [Karim] called me this morning, saying the news of my father's death had left him devastated," Roy said.

Karim later told rediff.com that Roy's death was a loss to both Indian and Bengal cricket. He described Roy as a great motivator and source of inspiration for today's players.

"Though I didn't see him play, I firmly believe that his mere presence on the ground used to be morale booster for us. He ensured his presence every time Bengal took on its opponents at Eden Gardens. His death has come as a shock to all of us, as until recently he was so fit. Pata hi nahi chal raha tha ki aise tandrust insaan ke saath aisa haadsa hoga [We never felt that a fit person like him would die so suddenly]," Karim added.

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