Australia legend Dean Jones passes away in Mumbai

Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has died of stroke in Mumbai at the age of 59. He was part of the commentary panel for the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Jones was fulfilling his broadcasting commitments for the T20 competition, which is currently being played in United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to climbing COVID-19 cases in India.

Born in Melbourne, Jones played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs for Australia during an international career which spanned eight years between 1984 and 1992. He scored 3631 runs in red-ball cricket at an average of 46.55 with 11 hundreds and 14 half-centuries.

In one-day internationals he amassed 6068 runs at 44.61 with 7 hundreds and 46 fifties.

"It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing away of Mr. Dean Mervyn Jones AM. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest. We express our deep condolences to his family and stand ready to support them in this difficult time. We are in touch with the Australian High Commission to make the necessary arrangements,” Star India said in its official statement.

"Dean Jones was one of the great ambassadors of the game associating himself with Cricket development across South Asia. He was passionate about discovering new talent and nurturing young Cricketers. He was a champion commentator whose presence and presentation of the game always brought joy to millions of fans. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Star and his millions of fans across the globe," the statement added.

Popularly known as ‘Professor Deano’ was also associated with two Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises, leading Islamabad United to the throne twice, while with Karachi Kings this year, his side qualified for the playoffs, which are scheduled to be played in November.

He was scheduled to return to Pakistan for the remaining part of the league.