New Delhi: While everyone experiences highs and lows in personal and professional life but nothing hits you harder than the death of mother and when the death happens due to a tragedy and is not normal, the pain doubles. The feeling is exactly what former cricketer-turned-actor Salil Ankola must be experiencing today after hearing the shocking news of his mother’s death.
On Friday evening, Ankola’s mother was found dead in her Pune flat under suspicious circumstances, with the exact cause of her death still unknown. Police are investigating the cause of 77-year-old Mala Ashok Ankola’s death, which unfortunately adds another dark chapter in the life of Salil Ankola. The cricketer, who was a household name in the 90s and continued being so in the 2000s with his tryst with TV and films, experienced a life full of tragedies and sorrow.
Promising cricketer who rubbed shoulders with likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis
Salil, who made his first-class debut in 1988-89 domestic season for Maharashtra, earned a call-up to the Indian team in the year 1989. For the next 8 years till 1997, the promising cricketer represented the nation in 20 ODIs and one Test match, gradually becoming a famous name in the Indian cricket team. He rubbed shoulders with the likes of great cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, making his Test debut with the Master Blaster and also showed his batting prowess against terrific Pakistan bowlers like Imran Khan and Waqar Younis.
Salil, who had a bright future ahead, was forced to call it quits from the world of cricket due to injury. A bone tumour in his left shin forced him to retire from cricket at the age of just 29, when things were tuning out in his favour. While the short cricketing career did not give him enough money, but it surely earned him a name.
Salil Ankola’s tryst with acting
Standing at 6ft 1 in, Salil Ankola, being a well-built handsome man, decided to try his hand at acting and became successful. While he had sensed in the final year of his cricketing career only that his journey in the game is coming to an end, Ankola made efforts in the glamourous acting world and got his first break in a TV serial in 1998.
From acting in TV, Ankola jumped into the world of movies and was welcomed there as he enjoyed the second innings of his life which was full of fun and excitement. He acted in many movies in the subsequent years, albeit, getting only small roles, but this seemed to fulfill his desires and aim till the first dark phase landed in his life.
Tragic phase from 2008-2012
Salil Ankola went through a very bad patch between 2008-2012. Since neither his cricketing career nor acting career had given hime enough money, he began to feel the lacuna after a while when his expenses rose and his finances took a toll. Ankola was not left with enough money to support his growing family expenses despite trying his luck in the industry. Financial issues and frustration piled up which led to alcoholism and breakdown of marital relations.
As per multiple media reports, in 2008, Ankola had been suffering from depression and was even admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Pune. As a result of it, his wife Parineeta, decide to leave him and settle down in Pune with her parents, leaving him alone. The couple finally got divorced in 2011, after Salil came out of the centre and couple of years later in 2013, it was reported that his wife committed suicide at her residence, leaving him further dented.
Although, he resumed acting after his recovery and still continues to appear on TV, though seldom, Friday marks yet another dark chapter in his life which is has been nothing short of a tragic roller-coaster life.
Former cricketer-turned-actor Salil Ankola lost his mother on Friday evening after her dead body was found in her flat in Pune. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
