PTI
Mumbai, Aug 1: Veteran journalist and former sports editor of The Times of India , KN Prabhu died here on Sunday morning. He was 83.
Kumble Niranjan Prabhu (Pic John Monteiro)
Prabhu is survived by a daughter and an Australia-based son, having lost his wife two years ago. He was discharged from hospital 10 days ago after suffering a bout of pneumonia.
The veteran journalist was known for his poetic style of cricket writing and had toured extensively with the Indian team after joining The Times of India in the late 1950s.
He covered India's first ever Test series victories in West Indies and England in 1971, besides covering India's World Cup triumph in 1983.
Prabhu, who started his career with Indian Chronicle in Delhi, was the only journalist to receive the prestigious CK Nayadu Award conferred by the Indian Cricket Board.
Sports Journalist Federation of India condoled his death.
Kapil Dev's Tribute (Courtesy: DNA)
Mumbai: Former World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev remembers KN Prabhu, the veteran scribe and former sports editor of The Times of India, who passed away on Sunday morning, as a “very polite gentleman”.
Prabhu is survived by a daughter and a son, having lost his wife two years ago. He was discharged from a hospital 10 days ago after suffering a bout of pneumonia. The veteran journalist toured extensively with the Indian team in the late 1950s.
He covered India’s first ever Test series victories in West Indies and England in 1971, besides covering India’s World Cup triumph in 1983.
“He was a very important person and writer of our time,” Kapil told DNA. “What struck me most about Prabhu was that he did his job very well, but at the same time kept a distance from the players.”
“There were occasions when he would have a cup of tea with us, but he never overtly tried to interact with the players,” Kapil said. “But if he wanted to clarify something or had a point to discuss he would approach us immediately. But he would seldom be seen at parties or at the bar.”
However, Prabhu never gave an impression of being detached from the game, Kapil said. Rather, his columns and articles were closely followed by the cricketers.
“In those days there wasn’t an influx of television channels and cricketers had not started writing columns. Journalists like Prabhu had a good insight into cricket and wrote very well. So we all used to read his articles on the game. Prabhu was among a small group of cricket writers who followed the team around the world and were clued into the game,” Kapil said.
Prabhu, who started his career with Indian Chronicle in Delhi, was the only journalist to receive the prestigious CK Nayadu Award conferred by the Indian Cricket Board. The Sports Journalist Federation of India condoled his death.
Profile by John Monteiro from Daijiworld's archives: