Sanjay Dobal, a former Delhi all-rounder, passed away on Monday morning due to complications from COVID-19 infection. He was 52 years old.
Dobal played for Sonnet Club and coached by Tarak Sinha, besides that, he also was employed with Air India and was known for his helpful disposition.
His long-time partner and former Delhi captain K. P. Bhaskar told the media, ““He was always there for any cricketer travelling out of Delhi. He is a very jovial man, he went out of the way to help cricketers travel in comfort.”
Dobal was a top cricket player at the domestic level. Sinha, the coach pointed out that , “He was my trusted performer. I remember he came to me as a teenager and showed immense talent. He is a hard-hitting middle-order batsman and an effective off-spinner, he would win matches on his own.”
The friendship with Dobal had been long for Delhi batsman Mithin Manhas. Dejected batsman expressed his thought, “He started off as a player and later became a good coach at Air India. He was known for his fitness. At his academy (at Dwarka) he insisted on his trainees focused on fitness before cricket skills.”
Dobal was harmed by late detection of COVID-19 symptoms according to Manhas, “He was treated at various hospitals before discovering that he had been infected by the dreaded virus. On Sunday evening, we organised plasma treatment for him but he gave up this morning.”
Dobal is survived by his wife and two sons – Siddhant and Ekansh. Elder Siddhant is Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy player , while younger Ekansh made his debut for Delhi U-23 side.
