Former Mumbai player Rajesh Verma, who was a member of the Ranji Trophy-winning squad of the 2006-07 season, died in Mumbai on Sunday, following a heart attack. He was 40 years old. The news of his demise was confirmed by his former Mumbai teammate Bhavin Thakkar.
Verma was a right-arm medium-pacer, and although he played only seven first-class matches, he was a part of the Mumbai squad that included the likes of past greats Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Wasim Jaffer, as well as current stars like the India team skipper Rohit Sharma, and won the 206-07 Ranji Trophy.
In that season, he played two matches for Mumbai - the opening game against Bengal which ended in a draw, and the second semifinal against Baroda. He picked up five in the whole season, including four in the important second semifinal game.
Verma, who made his first-class debut in the 2002/03 season, played his last game against Punjab at the Brabourne stadium in 2008. In the seven games, he managed to pick 23 wickets, with a lone five-wicket haul and best bowling figures of 5/97.
He also played eleven ‘List-A’ matches from which he bagged 20 wickets.
