Former captain Milind Rege, often considered as the life and soul of Mumbai cricket, died in a south Mumbai hospital on Wednesday morning. He was 76 and is survived by his wife and two sons.

An off-spinner, Rege took 126 wickets in 52 first-class matches between 1966-67 and 1977-78 besides scoring 1532 runs at an average of 23.56. He was also associated with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in various capacities, including chief selector and an administrator. He was an adviser to the MCA at the time of his death.

An extremely emotional Sunil Gavaskar paid rich tributes to his former teammate.

“For him Mumbai cricket was his life. Yes, he had strong opinions and so may have upset a few people but nobody could question his love and commitment to Mumbai cricket,” Gavaskar said in a message made available to The Telegraph.

“Met him in hospital yesterday (Tuesday) before leaving for Dubai. He kept on proffering his hand for me to shake it as if he knew we weren’t going to do it again.Told him I will see him on 22nd morning and he gave a wan smile.

“He was like my elder brother. We lived a building across each other and grew up together, went to the same school and college. Played tennis ball cricket in the compound... Milind always came to the rescue when we the so-called top order failed,” Gavaskar recalled.

“He was good enough to play for India but there was Prasanna and Venkataraghavan around, so he couldn’t break in. Then at the age of 24 he had his first heart attack. It speaks volumes of his love for Mumbai cricket and his determination that he made a comeback a few years later and even captained Mumbai.

“Last week after he was first admitted to the hospital, when I told him that Mumbai had taken a small lead against Haryana you could see how he immediately perked up.”

A grief-stricken Gavaskar said he wouldn’t return home for his “elder brother’s” funeral.

“We have known each other since we were a few months old, that’s why I won’t be able to bear the sight of his still body and won’t return for the funeral. It may sound selfish on my part but I genuinely won’t be able to take the last rites of my elder brother.”

Rege was one of the Mumbai selectors when a young Sachin Tendulkar wasadded to the Ranji Trophy squad in 1988.

“He was a true Mumbai cricketer with immense contributions to the city’s cricket. He and other CCI members saw potential in me and asked me to play for CCI, which, as I look back now, was a landmark moment in my career,” Tendulkar wrote on X.

“He could pick out a talented player from a sea of hardworking hopefuls. He had a special sixth sense to pick talent at all levels, but especially at junior levels.

“He leaves behind a void, one that’s tough to fill... He made a difference to so many lives and definitely made a difference to mine. Thank you, Sir, for everything”, Tendulkar wrote.