Santhanam Sundaram, The Indian Express' long-time sports writer, passed away in Kochi on Thursday Santhanam Sundaram, The Indian Express’ long-time sports writer, passed away in Kochi on Thursday following an illness. He was 78 and is survived by his wife, Hamsa Santhanam, and daughters Subhashree and Sujatha. Santhanam, or Santy Sir as he was popularly called by juniors who looked up to him for guidance, worked at The Indian Express from 1979 to 2006. The last rites will be performed at Ravipuram Crematorium in Ernakulam at 10:30 am on Friday, his family informed. He extensively covered cricket and table tennis for the newspaper. He was also a qualified cricket umpire. While his write-ups from India’s Test tour of England and the ODI tournaments during the 1990s were much appreciated for their unique perspective, he never lost touch with grassroots cricket in the capital. Within days of returning from international assignments, he would be spotted at some local ground covering school or league cricket.…