Former India cricket captain Polly Umrigar passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday evening after a prolonged illness.

He was 80.

Umrigar was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in June and was undergoing chemotherapy, as the cancer had spread through his chest and abdomen.

He played 59 Tests for India between the 1940s and 1960s, scoring 3631 runs at an average of 42.

He held the record for the highest first class score by an Indian. His 252 not out against Cambridge University stood for 30 years.

On Saturday only the Board of Control for Cricket in India felicitated all former India captains while Umrigar was battling with his growing illness.

BCCI president Sharad Pawar [Images] had sanctioned an all-expenses-paid medical aid, something beyond the Rs 3 lakh entitled to all ailing cricketers.

Former India captain and chairman of the BCCI's selection committee Dilip Vengsarkar expressed shock at the news of Umrigar's demise.

''Umrigar had been our manager on a couple of occasions and he was not just a great cricketer from whom you could learn a lot about cricket, but also a great and warm human being.

"This is a void that would be impossible to fill," he said.