Former India pacer David Johnson passed away at the age of 52 after falling from a balcony in Bengaluru on the morning of June 20, Thursday. The right-arm fast bowler from Karnataka was born on October 16, 1971, in the Arasikere region. He represented India in international cricket in the mid-1990s. He made his Test debut for India against Australia in October 1996 and featured in a total of two Test matches. The highlight of Johnson's career was clocking at 157.8 kmph during the Test match against Australia.
The incident occurred at SLV Paradise in Kanakashri Layout, under the jurisdiction of Kottanur police station. It took place on Thursday at 11:15 am. He allegedly jumped while family members were at home. The Kottanur police visited the spot and sent the body to the hospital for post-mortem. It is suspected to be suicide, allegedly due to depression. Currently, the Kottanur police are gathering information.
He leaves behind his wife and two children. Johnson, who was running a cricket academy, had not been in good health recently.
"We were informed that he had fallen from the fourth floor of his apartment building. He was taken to a hospital, but the doctors declared him brought dead," the KSCA official told PTI.
During Australia's tour to India, Johnson managed to pick the wicket of Michael Slater in the one-off Test in Delhi. Johnson's last Test match was against South Africa at Durban in 1996. He managed to pick the wickets of Herschelle Gibbs and Brian McMillan in the Test match. Despite boasting of potential with his raw pace, Johnson's international career did not last long, and he did not even feature in any ODIs for India. In 2 Test matches, the Indian seamer managed to scalp 3 wickets.
His domestic career for Karnataka spanned 39 First-Class matches as he enjoyed immense success in the domestic circuit. He recorded his best match figures of 10 for 152 against Kerela in 1995-96 Ranji Trophy season. His performance in the domestic set-up for Karnataka paved his way to the national side.
Former India player, Anil Kumble, who also represented Karnataka took to 'X' to offer his condolences on Johnson's demise.
"Saddened to hear the passing of my cricketing colleague David Johnson. Heartfelt condolences to his family. Gone too soon " Benny"!" Anil Kumble tweeted.
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir and the BCCI secretary Jay Shah also took to 'X' to pay tribute to the former India player.
