Ex-cricketer Rajinder Goel passes away at 77

Domestic cricket stalwart Rajinder Goel died on Sunday after suffering from illness for quite some time He was 77 and breathed his last at his residenceA leftmdasharm spinner while Goel never managed to break into the Indian team he took 750 wickets in a 24mdashyear career for Haryana He also represented Punjab and Delhi Goel also holds the record for most wickets in the Ranji Trophy He leads the tally with 637 wickets Goel received the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 from the BCCI for his service to Indian cricketIt is a huge loss for the game of cricket and a personal loss for me which has left a huge void He was one of the best if not the best leftarm spinner that this country has seen and his record of 750 firstclass wickets speaks for his tremendous ability former BCCI President Ranbir Singh Mahendra saidHe represented Haryana Delhi and Punjab in the Ranji Trophy His contribution to the game post his retirement was massive and he would eagerly watch even an interdistrict game in search for talent and remained the pivot for selection of Haryana cricket teams till he regretfully laid down his office on account of the Lodha recommendationsHe was a thorough gentleman who remained active till the very end In his passing the cricket world has lost one of its finest jewels I will miss him deeply he addedSh Rajinder Goel ji was a legend and one of the strongest foundations of the Haryana Cricket Association His contribution to the development of cricket and identification of talent in Haryana is immense On behalf of the Association I mourn his passing and extend our condolences to Sh Nitin Goel and his family Haryana Cricket Association President Kultar Singh Malik saidBorn to an assistant station master in the Indian Railways Goel first tasted success for North Zone schools in 1957 when he snared four wickets against West Zone in the final of the AllIndia schools tournament and was declared the best bowler of the tournamentHe made his Ranji debut in the next season He began his firstclass career with Patiala which then evolved into the Southern Punjab team He moved to Delhi in 1963 and Haryana ten years laterGoel never played for India officially but appeared against Ceylon in an unofficial Test at Ahmedabad in 196465 where he took four wickets in the second innings He never got a look in because of Bishan Singh Bedi who bowled in a similar styleHard work practice and some intellect on how to play the batsman these are mandatory Without practice you will not be able to master line and length which are key to defeat the batsman he had said to ESPNCricinfo in 2017 when asked what constitutes a good spinnerThere was a time when Bedi was axed from the Indian team for the Bangalore Test against the West Indies in 197475 Goel got a look in but as fate would have it he was excluded at the last moment He also bagged 6102 and 343 against the Australians in 197980Goel traumatised batsmen from the 1960s to the late1980s with his guileCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever