Deval Sahay, mentor of former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, died in Ranchi on Tuesday (November 24) due to multi-organ failure. He was 73. Deval was credited with preparing first turf pitches in Ranchi. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Sahay’s first name was Deobrat but he was popularly called Deval. He was admitted to a hospital due to breathing problems. It is learnt that Deval was discharged from the hospital on October 9.

“After spending about 10 days at home, he was again admitted to a hospital when he developed complications. And today at around 3 a.m. he passed away,” Sahay’s son Abhinav Akash Sahay told IANS from Ranchi.

Sahay’s daughter Meenakshi lives in the US but she is currently in Ranchi these days.

Sahay was an electrical engineer by profession and had played an important role in preparing first turf pitches in Ranchi. He achieved this feat first at MECON, where he was employed as a Chief Engineer. Sahay later joined Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), from where he retired as Director (Personnel).

It is to be noted that Dhoni’s father also worked at MECON.

Sahay’s character was also portrayed in Dhoni’s biographical Bollywood film, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’.