Sachin Tendulkar condoles demise of legendary footballer Pradip Kumar Banerjee

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar condoled the demise of legendary footballer Pradip Kumar Banerjee, who passed away on Friday at the age of 83.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the 46-year-old posted a picture of him with Banerjee and extended his hearfelt tribute to the great footballer. 

"Heartfelt condolences on the passing of the great Indian footballer PK Banerjee!Have fond memories of meeting him on a few occasions and the positivity he spread.May his soul Rest In Peace!" master-blaster Tendulkar wrote. 

Heartfelt condolences on the passing of the great Indian footballer PK Banerjee!

Have fond memories of meeting him on a few occasions and the positivity he spread.

May his soul Rest In Peace! pic.twitter.com/NqXO2A91wc — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 20, 2020

Besides Tendulkar, Indian football skipper Sunil Chhetri, batsman Wriddhiman Saha among others also paid tributes to Banerjee. Let us take a look at them:

I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. PK Banerjee as well as to the entire Indian football fraternity.
He was a pioneer in every sense of the word, and his achievements will forever have a place in Indian footballing history. Rest in peace. — Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) March 20, 2020

 

My heartfelt condolences for PK Banerjee one of the finest footballers the country have ever produced. The loss for #IndianFootball will be irreparable 

My thoughts are with his bereaved family members. May his soul rest in peace pic.twitter.com/aaicT4Om64 — Pritam Kotal (@KotalPritam) March 20, 2020

 

A legend and one of our greatest football player has left us today.
Rest in Peace PK Banerjee, Indian football will miss you.
My sincere condolences to members of his family and all his fans.@IndianFootball @IndiaSports #PKBanerjee #football #India pic.twitter.com/lcLoD9Uz5X — Praful Patel (@praful_patel) March 20, 2020

Banerjee was admitted in Medica Superspecialty Hospital since February 2020. He was suffering from Sepsis and multi-organ failure due to pneumonia, with a background of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Heart problems.

He was on ventilator support in the intensive care unit for more than two weeks. For last few days, he was in very critical condition.

Inspite of best of efforts and extensive clinical support by the multidisciplinary team of consultants, he succumbed to his illness and breathed his last at 2.08pm this afternoon.

Born on June 23, 1936 in West Bengal, Asian Games gold-medallist Banerjee scored a total of 65 international goals in 84 appearances he made for the national football team during his career. 

He made his debut as a 16-year-old for Bihar in the Santosh Trophy in 1952. Banerjee bid adieu to the game as a player in 1967 after being laid low by recurring injuries.  

One of his most bright moments as a footballer came in 1956 when India made a fourth-place finish at the Melbourne Olympics after beating Australia by 4-1. 

Following his retirement, he shifted his focus on coaching and finished with a staggering 54 trophies as a coach.

Banerjee is survived by daughters Paula and Purna, who are renowned academicians, and younger brother Prasun Banerjee--a sitting Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament.