New Delhi: India's cricket legend Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, known for his swashbuckling style on and off the cricket field, died Thursday after battling a lung infection for about a month. He was 70.
The former Indian captain, who was admitted to the Sir Gangaram Hospital, is survived by his wife, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, and three children - daughters Soha and Saba and son Saif.
His son Saif, a popular actor, and his partner Kareena Kapoor were by his side when he breathed his last.
He played 46 Test matches for India between 1961 and 1975.
On Thursday morning, doctors had warned that Pataudi's condition was deteriorating and he was critical.
"His condition has deteriorated since Wednesday and he is unable to maintain his oxygen level in spite of maximum treatment. He continues to remain in the ICU (intensive care unit)," Neeraj Jain, senior consultant and chairman of pulmonolgy (chest medicine) at Gangaram Hospital in central Delhi, had said.
Pataudi had been admitted to the hospital in August with acute lung infection.
"This disease... had been static since the last three months. It worsened very acutely over the last four weeks," Jain said.
"The possibility of lung transplant was discussed very early as soon as his condition worsened. But he was not a suitable candidate for it," he added.
A dashing cricketer, Pataudi hit the arclights when he married the young Sharmila Tagore in 1969.
The connection to Indian cinema endured through the decades when his son Saif also became a Bollywood actor and so did his daughter Soha.
In his later years, Pataudi was a familiar figure in Delhi circles.
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