Avi Barot, one of the most promising players in the Saurashtra cricket fraternity, suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 29.
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In a shocking development in Indian cricket, 29-year-old cricketer Avi Barot from Saurashtra died of a heart attack on Sunday. Barot, who was the fourth-highest run-getter for Saurashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali 2021, was a talented batsman. His best knock came against Goa in which he smashed 122 off 53 balls. In the past, Avi Barot has been an aggressive T20 batsman, averaging 37 and having a strike rate of 146.6 at the top of the order.
In a statement released by the Saurashtra Cricket Association, Jaydev Shah, the President of the SCA has expressed shock at his death. “He was (a) great team-mate and had great cricketing skill. In all recent domestic matches, he had performed remarkably well. He was a very friendly and (a) noble human being. We all at Saurashtra Cricket Association are in deep shock,” Shah said.
Former India batsman Wasim Jaffer also expressed shock at the demise of Avi Barot, expressing his condolences to the family.
Deeply saddened to know that Avi Barot is no more. A cardiac arrest at the age of 29.. devastating. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. I hope they find the strength to cope with this irreparable loss ?? pic.twitter.com/otmO0z0y71
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 16, 2021
Born in Ahmedabad in 1992, Barot won the BCCI’s Under-19 cricketer of the year in 2011 for his exploits in the Cooch Behar Trophy. He had scored four centuries and three half-centuries in their title run in that year. Barot impressed in one of the Syed Mushtaq Ali games for Haryana in their encounter against Punjab in Jamia ground in 2014. His solid knock gave a glimpse of the potential that he held at that time.
Barot was part of the Saurashtra team that had entered the final in 2015/16 but they lost to Mumbai. Four years later, during the 2019/20 season, Barot was once again in the side as they won the title for the first time in their history. In that Ranji season, Barot scored 309 runs at an average of 34.33. Barot scored 54 and 39 to thwart Bengal in the final. In the earlier league game against Rajasthan, Barot scored a ton that gave them confidence.
In his career, Barot had a decent Twenty20 career. He aggregated 1547 runs at an average of 48.49 in first-class cricket. In List A cricket, he aggregated 1030 runs at 28.61 and 717 runs at 37.73 in T20s.
During the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy, Barot scored 83 against Bengal and he was one of the prolific run-getters along with Arpit Vasavada in their campaign. Barot is survived by his wife and mother. It is a sad end to what could have been a promising career for the Gujarat batsman.
