New Delhi, July 17: 32-year-old Santosh Lal breathed his last on Wednesday, July 17. Lal, a former Jharkhand Ranji player and a close friend of Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was under treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Lal, who earlier was admitted to a hospital in Ranchi, was airlifted to Delhi when his health condition deteriorated. The former Ranji player survived by parents, wife and a 3-year-old daughter.

Dhoni, who has gone for a vacation in US, claimed that Lal was the inventor of his "helicopter shot". The famous cricket shot had brought the skipper in the limelight during his early days in Team India.

Dhoni reportedly had bore the medical expenditure for Lal's treatment. Meanwhile, other reports claimed that Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) had donated Rs 1 lakh to Lal for his treatment and Rs 39,500 was collected among the association members and handed over to his family.

Lal was an employee of Indian Railways. His autopsy has been done at Lady Hardinge hospital in the national capital and his body would be flown back to Ranchi later.

Speaking about Lal, his friend Ramesh Kumar was quoted as saying, "Santosh was the best cricketer Ranchi has ever produced, He was extremely polite and selfless person who selfless use to help every one. His demise would leave a void in cricket in Jharkhand."

Watch Dhoni's helicopter shot:

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OneIndia News