S Dinakar, The Hindu's senior cricket writer, passes away

Dinakar, 57, was found unconscious in a hotel room in Indore's Vijay Nagar area on Monday. A heart attack is the prima facie cause of the journalist's death

A senior sports journalist of an English daily died here, possibly due to a heart attack, an official of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) said on Tuesday.

S Dinakar, 57, senior deputy editor (sports) of The Hindu, was found unconscious in a hotel room in the Vijay Nagar area on Monday.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, an MPCA official said. According to doctors, a heart attack is the prima facie cause of the journalist's death.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sampat Upadhyay said he would comment on the matter after getting full details.

A colleague said that Dinakar had covered the third Test match between India and Australia in Indore as part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy event, and was scheduled to leave for Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning for the fourth and final Test starting March 9.

Former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale told PTI, "Dinakar spoke to me on Monday about the aggressive playing style of the cricket team of Holkars, the erstwhile rulers of Indore". He said Dinakar was supposed to visit him for an interview but later decided to speak over the phone.