New Delhi: The man who coached cricketing legend Kapil Dev, Desh Prem Azad, passed away on Friday. He was 75.
A Dronacharya awardee, Desh Prem Azad coached big names like Kapil Dev, Yograj Singh, Chetan Sharma and Ashok Malhotra.
He made his debut in cricket in 1953 and became a qualified coach in 1961got certified from National Institute of Sports.
Starting at a very tender age of 14 years, he played his first Ranji trophy when he was in 9th class. He was born in Amritsar and completed his schooling from Patiala. He then graduated from DAV College Jalandhar.
Kapil Dev had once said that Azad's strictness helped him become the Indian captain.
The former right-handed batsman, who had the distinction of playing for teams like Maharaja of Patalia's XI, Southern Punjab and Haryana between 1953 and 1973, also established and successfully ran a cricket academy in Chandigarh.
