Santhebennur Lokesh Akshay, a former first-class cricketer from Karnataka, has passed away at the age of 39 on Sunday, May 24. Akshay took part in an unofficial local match on the day he breathed his last, according to reports. It has further come to notice that Akshay faced an untimely death due to a heart attack while playing a Division III match in Bengaluru.

The highlight of Akshay's career has been that he was a part of the dominant Karnataka squad that had won the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15, although he did not play a game that season. He played his last professional match during the Karnataka Premier League (now known as the Maharaja T20 Trophy) in 2019, representing Bijapur Bulls against Bellary Tuskers.

He made his Ranji debut against Saurashtra in a group-stage clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Further in his career, he was a part of a total of six first-class matches for Karnataka. The late cricketer also represented his state in the white-ball formats, playing three one-day and nine 20-over contests. He picked 32 wickets in his professional career.

The Shimoga-born's last appearance for Karnataka came during the 2013 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the league's 2012-13 season against Baroda, where he made 10 runs off seven balls and also picked a couple of wickets for 39 runs in 3.5 overs in Indore. 

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