On Wednesday, October 11, D.J. Gokulakrishnan, a former BCCI referee and coach for Tamil Nadu, passed away. The all-rounder played for a total of twelve years. When Gokulakrishnan passed away, he was fifty years old. He had a cardiac arrest. Gokulakrishnan was a player from 1993 to 2004 who participated in 39 first-class matches, amassing 103 wickets and 1,116 runs. He participated in 45 games in List-A cricket, amassing 552 runs and claiming 71 wickets. In addition to Tamil Nadu, he was a domestic player for Assam and Goa.
Gokulakrishnan ended his playing career and went on to officiate BCCI matches for the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. In addition, he served as a Tamil Nadu Premier League referee. An accomplished level 2 coach, he served as assistant coach for the Tamil Nadu squad twice, in 2008 and 2013. He was their bowling coach in 2010. In 2015, he also served as the Tamil Nadu u-19 team’s head coach.
Gokulakrishnan also had a lengthy career with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who has won the Indian Premier League five times. He was formerly a talent scout for the team captained by MS Dhoni. He served as a special coach at the Super Kings Academy as well. Both the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) issued comments expressing their sympathies for the premature death of the fifty-year-old man, who was affectionately referred to as “Geeks.”
CSK mourn sudden demise of former Tamil Nadu coach and BCCI referee DJ Gokulakrishnan
Tamil Nadu cricketer Abhinav Mukund shared condolences on the former coach’s sudden demise, “Absolutely shellshocked hearing the news coming out of chennai! Former FC cricketer, my U-17 & U-19 coach DJ Gokulakrishnan passes away. He was 51. He was a BCCI Match referee and I met him recently during the TNPL. Life is so unpredictable- prayers and strength to his family. Deepest condolences to his brother Umpire Madanagopal as well.”
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