A number of present and former cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma took to Twitter to express their condolences to Rajput’s family.
“Shocked and sad to hear about the loss of Sushant Singh Rajput. Such a young and talented actor. My condolences to his family and friends. May his soul RIP,” wrote Sachin Tendulkar.
“Shocked to hear about Sushant Singh Rajput. This is so difficult to process. May his soul RIP and may God give all the strength to his family and friends,” tweeted Virat Kohli. The Indian captain’s wife Anushka Sharma had co-starred with Rajput in the blockbuster Bollywood film PK.
“This is distressing, can’t come to terms that this has happened. Really disturbing. Brilliant actor RIP in brother,” a tweet from Indian opener Rohit Sharma read.
“Shocked to hear about Sushant Singh Rajput. Met him several times as he spent time with us for Mahi’s biopic. We’ve lost a handsome, ever-smiling actor. Om Shanti!,” said Indian batsman Suresh Raina
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan recalled his last meeting with Rajput during which the actor had recommened him to watch ‘Chhichhore’. “I’m deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the suicide of #SushantSinghRajput. My heart goes out for his family. I chatted with him last at the Taj Hotel Gym, I praised him for his work in Kedarnath & his reply was ‘Bhai please do watch chhichhore’ you will love it!,”
“Life is fragile and we don’t know what one is going through. Be kind. #SushantSinghRajput Om Shanti,” former India opener Virender Sehwag wrote while paying his tributes.
“Extremely heartbreaking news. Rest in Peace #SushantSinghRajput. Met him a few times and he was such a jovial guy. Strength to all his loved ones. My heart cries for him,” all-rounder Hardik Pandya tweeted, remembering the actor.
After gaining fame through the TV show ‘Pavitra Rishta’ in 2009, Rajput made a successful transition to movies in 2013 with ‘Kai Po Che’. Apart from ‘MS Dhoni’ and ‘Chicchhore’, he also acted in ‘Sonchiriya’, ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshi’, ‘Raabta’ and ‘Kedarnath’.
--By A Cricket Corresponden