Guwahati, Nov. 24: Assam Cricket Association joint secretary and former Ranji Trophy cricketer from Assam, Umananda Bora, passed away early this morning.

Bora, who suffered a heart attack around 8 last evening in his hometown Lakhimpur, breathed his last near Dalgaon in Darrang district when he was being shifted to Guwahati.

He was 51 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Bora was cremated this evening in the presence of a host of sports organisers from across the state, well-wishers and relatives.

Bora, who had represented Assam in the Ranji Trophy in the 1983-84 season, was a lecturer in District Institute of Education and Training in Lakhimpur and secretary of the Lakhimpur Cricket Association. He was elected joint secretary of the ACA in 2006 and was re-elected in 2009 along with Bishnu Ram Nunisa.

The ACA, Assam Olympic Association, Guwahati Sports Association, Gauhati Town Club were among a host of sports organisations who condoled the untimely demise of the sportsperson. Apart from announcing a three-day mourning by the ACA, all cricket activities of the association and its affiliated district units have been cancelled today.

ACA secretary Bikash Baruah, in a statement, said Bora’s demise was not only a loss to the ACA but to the entire state which would miss his pioneering efforts in various initiatives towards development of cricket. “We have lost a reliable hand in every initiative of the ACA henceforth,” Baruah said.

ACA president Gautam Roy said Bora was not only a quality administrator but also an asset for the association.