Former Indian cricketer Salil Ankola’s mother Mala Ashok Ankola (77) was found dead in her Pune flat on Friday with her throat slit, PTI quoted a police official as saying. The official added that the injuries prima facie appear ‘self-inflicted’.

According to the details, the incident came to light when Mala’s maid came to the flat on Prabhat Road in the Deccan Gymkhana area in the afternoon. After no one answered the door, she alerted the relatives. Police stated that the deceased lived with her daughter.

“When the door was opened, the woman was found dead with her throat slit. Prima facie, it looks like the injuries are self-inflicted. However, we are probing the case from all angles,” PTI quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sandip Singh Gill as saying, who added that Mala was suffering from some mental ailment.

Following this, she was promptly taken to a private hospital where Mala was declared dead. Police have filed an accidental death case report and further investigation to ascertain the reason behind her death is ongoing.

Salil Ankola’s cricket journey:

In the 1988-89 season, Sahil began his domestic cricket journey with Bombay, where he took a hat-trick and scored 43 runs against Gujarat. After this, he took six wickets against Baroda.

With his name making the rounds, he received a call from the national cricket team where he picked a six-wicket haul in the tour opener against Pakistan in 1989-90. Ankola made his Test debut in Karachi against Pakistan, claiming 2 wickets for 128 runs.

But due to his injuries, his career derailed. He made a comeback to the Indian ODI team in 1993 but was dropped the following year, but was dropped due to poor fielding reasons.

For the 1996 World Cup, he was briefly called and he played in one series afterwards. By the age of 28, Ankola had retired from cricket to embark on a career in acting. He was also a part of Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee before being replaced by Ajay Ratra last month, reported Hindustan Times.