Rahul Dravid

Indore: Former India captain Mushtaq Ali fell down and suffered minor back and head injuries on hearing the news of Vijay Hazare?s death, his family members said here Saturday.

?The moment he heard the news, he fell down and suffered minor injuries on his head and back,? Mushtaq?s son Gulrez Ali said. Mushtaq, who was presented with CCI?s lifetime achievement award on his 90th birthday, was advised rest.

Mushtaq may not have been in a position to recollect his association with Hazare, but the rest of the Indian cricket fraternity paid rich tributes to the legendary cricketer. Following are some of the tributes (alphabetically):

CHANDU BORDE: ?Hazare was a human being par excellence who had no enemies on or off the field. He was one of the finest batsmen I have ever come across. He was highly respected, a great patriot who played with his heart on his sleeves.?

NARI CONTRACTOR: ?Hazare was a great gentleman. He had immense concentration? he could build an innings and also play attacking strokes if needed.?

JAGMOHAN DALMIYA: ?He was a man of character and dignity, with so much of humility. That was the sign of a truly great cricketer. He was the real ambassador of the gentleman?s game. He was India?s Jack Hobbs.?

RAHUL DRAVID: ?I was very sad to hear that Vijay Hazare is dead. He was one of the legends of not only Indian cricket but the cricket world. His batting deeds will go down as one of the greatest in the history of the game.?

RAJ SINGH DUNGARPUR: ?Hazare was one of the most respected batsmen after the second World War. He is among the top five India have produced, along with C.K. Nayudu, Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Just last week I went to Vadodara to confer the CCI?s lifetime achievement award? since he was on artificial support system, I had to hand over the award to his wife. It?s a big blow to me personally.?

MANMOHAN SINGH: ?I join all his admirers in paying tribute to the first captain to lead our cricket team to victory. He did so at a time when India had not yet made its mark internationally, and it is through the contributions of pioneering sportsmen such as Hazare that our cricketers are amongst the best in the world.?

AJIT WADEKAR: ?It was he who taught us, including Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Sardesai, how to build an innings and never throw away our wickets easily. (PTI)