The local cricket fraternity is mourning the sudden death of Rwanda international batsman, Prince Uwimanishaka, who breathed his last on Sunday evening at Kibagabaga hospital.

The cause of his death is still unknown. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the 21-year old youngster was recovering from malaria but looked fit on Sunday morning.

In a phone interview with Times Sport on Sunday night, Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) General Manager Emmanuel Byiringiro confirmed the sad news before noting that the cause of his death was still unclear and the postmortem report from doctors was awaited to confirm.

"He was a lovely kid and fantastic player. He had improved a lot this year, he left us so soon. He had a very bright career ahead. He will be dearly missed.” Byiringiro told Times Sport yesterday.

Former RCA president Charles Haba was the first to tweet about Uwimanishaka’s death.

He wrote, "Saddened by the shocking death of 21-year-old Rwanda international Prince Uwimanishaka. Great loss to the cricket fraternity. Explosive middle order batsman gone too soon.”

Uwimanishaka played in the series of T20 friendly tests of Rwanda against Zambia last month, a test that was part of intensive preparations for upcoming regional qualifiers of the World Cup.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw