Seven years ago, Subhash Dixit was flying high, leading Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel as captain of India’s Under-15 World Cup cricket side, and looking at a future that promised the world.
On Saturday morning, he was found lying at the foot of the six-storey Krishna Tower in Kanpur. The dream had crashed in a crumpled, lifeless heap. The police said Subhash had committed suicide, and an aunt with whom he stayed said the politics of cricket in Uttar Pradesh had made him do it.
“The reason behind the suicide is still not known. We are working on the case,” Rajesh Dwivedi, station house officer of the Kotwali police circle, said.
Rachna Dixit, Subhash’s aunt, said Subhash had been depressed ever since a promised job did not come his way. “He was always critical of the politics in UP cricket and was upset with the system here,” she said.
Subhash left home on Saturday morning, telling his aunt he was going to play cricket at the Green Park Stadium. He never returned. The mangled body couldn’t be identified immediately, and his family came to know only after a local newspaper published a photo on Sunday.
Gopal Sharma, former national selector and currently chairman of the UP Ranji Trophy selection committee, said he was shocked. “Subhash was a good cricketer and a great fighter against odds,” Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}Gopal Sharma, former national selector and currently chairman of the UP Ranji Trophy selection committee, said he was shocked. “Subhash was a good cricketer and a great fighter against odds,” Sharma said.
{{/usCountry}}So why did a promising cricketer and captain of India’s U-15 and U-17 teams never make it further? Sharma replied, “Things were different then. What can I say?”