V.B. Chandrasekhar: The man who brought Dhoni to CSK

“(sic) One of the main architects behind CSK’s strong foundation and brand of cricket! V B Chandrasekhar's contribution to TN cricket as a player, mentor and official is immeasurable. He was an intergral part of the Super Kings family and it is truly a personal loss to all of us.”

Vakkadai Biksheswaran Chandrasekhar, who, reportedly, hanged himself from the ceiling fan at his house at Mylapore in Chennai yesterday because of mounting debt, was the cricket manager of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the first three seasons. Not many would know that it was the former India cricketer who made the winning bid of $1.5 million for Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the inaugural auction. Twelve seasons on, with three titles and five runners-up finishes, skipper Dhoni, or Thala as he is lovingly called by CSK fans, has become synonymous with the club.

Though Dhoni, who is away on a two-week stint with the para regiment of the Army, is yet to comment on the tragic incident, his CSK teammates Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh and coach Stephen Fleming expressed their shock and grief on Twitter.

Chandrasekhar, who was supposed to do the commentary for the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) semifinals on August 15, reportedly, skipped it and stayed at his house. Chandrasekhar owns the VB Kanchi Veerans, one of the TNPL teams. While all the other TNPL teams are owned by big corporates in Tamil Nadu, Chandrasekhar is the sole owner of Kanchi Veerans. It was in 2012 that he bought the players for Rs 3.69 crore. He had, reportedly, borrowed Rs 4 crore for managing the team in the past few years.

Kanchi Veerans lost in the Eliminator this year. Chandrasekar, reportedly, was upset over it for the past few days.

No suicide note has been found but, according to the police, his wife has said that he was disturbed because of the mounting debt. “He was under pressure because of his growing debts. A month ago, he had received a notice from the bank. He had accrued a lot of debt. He had mortgaged his house, too. Yesterday, before going to his room, he had tea with his family at 5.45pm,” said Senthil Murugan, the investigating officer.

The police have, reportedly, questioned the bank officers and his auditors to understand his financial dealings that, possibly, drove him to take the extreme step.

Chandrasekhar was only six days short of his 58th birthday, and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

He was a sought-after commentator. "I have done two years of commentary with him and I can vouch that I became better simply interacting with him,” said former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta. “His game reading, grip on technical aspects was mind-blowing and it is a memory I would always cherish," he said.

"His passion was unmatched and I know he used to spend a lot from his own pocket in running a team in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) known as VB Kanchi Veerans. It will take some time for this tragic news to sink in," said Dasgupta.

A qualified engineer, Chandrasekhar made his first-class debut at 25 and played in a formidable Tamil Nadu team, which comprised W.V. Raman, Diwakar Vasu, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Bharath Arun. In 81 first-class matches, Chandrasekhar scored 4,999 runs at 43.09 with 10 centuries. In fact he was part of the Tamil Nadu team that last won the Ranji Trophy, in 1987-88. He scored 160 in the quarterfinal against Uttar Pradesh and 89 in the final against Railways.

Rahul Dravid leaves after paying his last respects to former Chandrasekhar, who committed suicide on Thursday at his Mylapore residence, in Chennai | PTI

But what catapulted him to greater heights was his 56-ball century against Rest of India in the Irani Trophy in 1988—then the fastest century by an Indian in first-class cricket.

A hard-hitting opening batsman, he represented India in seven ODIs, with 53 being his highest score. Unfortunately, he went through a lean patch during a tri-series in New Zealand in 1990, and never played for India again.

He went on to lead Tamil Nadu and Goa. After he hung up his boots, he turned his attention to coaching—he was in charge of the Tamil Nadu team in 2012-13—and commentary.

Chandrasekhar was also a national selector when Greg Chappell was the Team India coach.

He, reportedly, shared a special bond with Rahul Dravid and the latter’s sons used to visit Chandrasekhar's coaching camp in Chennai.

Chandrasekhar's funeral will take place on August 17 in Chennai.

(With inputs from Lakshmi Subramanian)