The Saurashtra Cricket Association said, former India left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi passed away due to cardiac arrest in London on Monday.

Having made his test debut in 1979 after Bedi’s retirement, Dilip Doshi played his last of the 33 matches in 1983.

He has also claimed 114 wickets with six five-wicket hauls and was exceptional at home during the first three seasons. He took just 28 Test matches to reach the feat of 100 wickets.

One of his memorable performances came when he bagged five wickets in India’s Test triumph at the MCG in 1981, when the visitors defended the target.

The veteran played with a fractured toe and was literally unplayable on the MCG track. Doshi, Karsan Ghavri and Kapil Dev were the players who won the game for India.

He has shine brightly in English County Cricket for more than a decade having represented Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.

“Dilip bhai suffered a heart attack in London. He is no more,” said Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah.

“Dilip’s passing away is a personal loss to me. He was like a family. He was one of the finest human beings,” said former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.

In the Indian domestic circuit, Dilip Doshi played for Bengal and Saurashtra and having picked 898 wickets including 43 five wicket hauls.

The Australian, English and West Indies team who toured India has found it difficult to handle his arm balls, and it was Javed Miandad, who actually hastened his exit from international cricket during the 1982-83 series against Pakistan.

Dilip Doshi was a gentleman to the core. Miandad would often tease him by enquiring about his room number in the middle of the game.

“Ae Dilip tela loom number kya hai,” said Miandad. He was a close friend of Sunil Gavaskar and the legend was first introduced to his wife Marshaniel by Doshi. After retirement, he relocated to London where he became a successful businessman.

He would divide his time between London, Mumbai and Rajkot and it was quite strange that the BCCI never bothered to use Doshi’s expertise.

Former India captain Anil Kumble was among the first to pay his tribute to the late cricketer. “Heartbreaking to hear about Dilip bhai’s passing. May God give strength to his family and friends to bear this loss. Nayan, thinking of you buddy,” Kumble wrote on X.