Former Test cricketer Ramesh Saxena was cremated at Parvati Ghat in Bistupur on Wednesday.

The 67-year-old’s body was brought to his Bistupur residence from Tata Main Hospital (TMH) in the morning, where it was kept for over two hours. Former Bihar and Jharkhand Ranji players, current state cricketers, coaches, senior functionaries of Tata Steel, Jusco and well-wishers turned up to pay respects to Saxena, one of the most prolific run-getters of his times.

Tata Steel executive officer Vijay Singh Rana placed a wreath on behalf of company’s managing director H.M. Nerurkar and his predecessor B. Muthuraman at the crematorium.

Saxena, who played a solitary Test for India against England at Leeds in 1967, died of multi-organ failure at the intensive care unit of TMH on Tuesday. The cricketer had suffered a cerebral attack at Howrah railway station over a year ago. He suffered memory loss and never recovered. He was admitted to TMH on August 10 with viral fever.

Charles Borromeo, senior manager of Tata Steel sports department, remembered the former cricketer as “a great sportsperson”. “We will miss him,” he said.

“Ramesh Saxena thought a lot about the development of cricket in Jharkhand. The void left by him will be difficult to fill,” said B.N. Singh, vice-president of Jharkhand State Cricket Association.