CNN - IBN

New Delhi, Jul 2: Former India cricketer Dilip Narayan Sardesai passed away in Mumbai on Monday evening after multiple organ failure. He was 66.

Sardesai was admitted to Bombay Hospital with a chest infection on June 23.

Suffering from kidney problems for a long time, Sardesai had been on dialysis since.

One of India's the most prolific openers in an era dominated by England, Australia and West Indies, Sardesai made his Test debut in the 1961-62 season.

Born on August 8, 1940, Sardesai broke into the Indian cricket scene during an inter-university tournament in 1959-60 where he made 435 runs at an average of 87.

Sardesai held the distinction of being the only Goa-born cricketer to play for India and donned 30 Test caps between 1961 to 1972.

Having made 2,001 runs in this period at an average of nearly 40, Sardesai hit five Test hundreds and nine half-centuries.

The pinnacle of his career came in the West Indies in 1971 when India won a historic series 1-0. He made 642 runs in the series which included two centuries and a double hundred.

Sardesai was also part of 15 consecutive Ranji Trophy winning teams with Mumbai, a record that has stood the test of time so far.

He is survived by wife Nandini Sardesai, a sociologist and a member of the Indian Censor Board, and son Rajdeep Sardesai, the Editor-in-Chief of CNN-IBN.

His daughter, Shonali works on conflict related issues at the World Bank in Washington DC.