Former Tamil Nadu coach and BCCI referee, D.J. Gokulakrishnan, passed away on Wednesday, October 11. The all-rounder had a playing career that spanned 12 years. Gokulakrishnan was 50 years old at the time of his demise. He suffered a heart attack. Gokulakrishnan played between 1993- 2004 and scored 1,116 runs while picking up 103 wickets in 39 first-class games. In List-A cricket, he took part in 45 matches, scoring 552 runs and picking up 71 wickets. Besides Tamil Nadu, he also played for Assam and Goa on the domestic circuit.
After calling time on his playing career, Gokulakrishnan officiated as a BCCI match referee in the Ranji Trophy, and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Besides, he also officiated in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. A qualified level 2 coach, he had two stints with the Tamil Nadu team as assistant coach in 2008 and 2013. In 2010, he served as their bowling coach. He was also the head coach of the Tamil Nadu u-19 team in 2015.
Gokulakrishnan had also worked for a long time with five-time Indian Premier League winners Chennai Super Kings. He was recently associated with the MS Dhoni-led franchise as a talent scout. He was also part of the Super Kings Academy as a special coach. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) as well as the renowned IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), released statements to condole the untimely demise of the 50-year-old, who was fondly known as ‘Geeks’.
W V Raman believed Gokulakrishnan missed out on representing India
The former India Women’s coach and India men’s player, W V Raman, who featured in 11 Tests and 27 ODIs for India and was one of the captains under whom Gokulakrishnan played at Tamil Nadu. The latter also served as an assistant coach while Raman was the head coach of Tamil Nadu. The 58-year-old felt that the all-rounder had the potential to represent the national team in white-ball cricket.
“Gokulakrishnan was perhaps unlucky to miss out on not being accorded the highest honour. I mean the Indian cap when I say that. He would have been a good player for white-ball cricket,” the 58-year-old was quoted as saying by Sportstar
