Rajinder Goel
Encyclopedia
Rajinder Goel is a former cricket
er who holds the record for most wickets in Ranji Trophy
, India's premier first class competition, despite which he was never selected to play for India
. A left arm
spinner, he represented Patiala, Southern Punjab, Delhi
and Haryana
in domestic cricket.
The son of an assistant station master
in the Indian Railways
, Goel came up through the Vaish school and college in Rohtak
.His first major success was for North Zone schools in 1957 when he took four wickets against West Zone in the final of the All-India schools tournament and was declared the best bowler of the competition. He made his Ranji debut in the next season. Goel credits his early success to his teacher and coach Kishan Dayal. He started his first class career with Patiala, which then evolved into the Southern Punjab team. He moved to Delhi in 1963 and Haryana ten years later.
Goel appeared for India against Ceylon in an unofficial Test at Ahmedabad
in 1964-65 where he took 4 for 33 in the second innings. Thereafter,
the presence of the "Indian spin quartet
", especially Bishen Bedi who bowled similar style, restricted his appearances for India. When Bedi was dropped from the team for the Bangalore
Test against West Indies
in 1974-75 on disciplinary grounds for appearing in a BBC interview, Goel was selected to the Indian team but was excluded at the last moment. He also took 6-102 and 3-43 against the Australians in 1979-80. Goel rated his 12-134 against the South Zone in the 1975-76 Duleep Trophy
as his most satisfying performance.
Goel went past V. V. Kumar's
Ranji record of 417 wckets in the 1978-79 season. His 600th wicket was Chandrakant Pandit
, caught at deep squareleg in the Ranji semifinal against Bombay
in 1983-84. He retired after taking 39 wickets in 1984-85 season.
Goel's 640 wickets is a record by a long way, Srinivas Venkataraghavan with 530 wickets being the next best. He took more than 25 Ranji wickets in a season fifteen times, including in his last nine seasons. Haryana reached the Ranji semifinal thrice during Goel's time but lost on each occasion. Their first appearance in the final happened in the season after his retirement.
Goel is one of two non-Test cricketers, the other being Padmakar Shivalkar
, who Sunil Gavaskar
chose among his "idols" in his book the same name. "He is the one bowler whom I am have really dreaded facing in my life", he wrote about Goel, "I have never been able to feel comfortable against his left hand spinners and Goel has been one who, because of his flatter trajectory, has not given me the opportunity to step down the track and drive". However, Gavaskar considered Bedi
the greater bowler overall.
During his playing days, Goel was employed with the State Bank of India. He later served as a selector for Haryana and the Indian junior teams. His son Nitin Goel was also a first class cricketer.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who holds the record for most wickets in Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
, India's premier first class competition, despite which he was never selected to play for India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. A left arm
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
spinner, he represented Patiala, Southern Punjab, Delhi
Delhi cricket team
The Delhi cricket team is one of the first-class cricket teams, that plays in India's domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy. They have won the tournament seven times and have been runners-up seven. Their latest title in 2007-08 came after a long wait of 16 years. The previous win was in the...
and Haryana
Haryana cricket team
The Haryana cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Haryana. The team is run by the Haryana Cricket Association. In recent times it hasn't been very successful in the Ranji Trophy circuit. In the past, however, it has produced some of the biggest superstars to go on to...
in domestic cricket.
The son of an assistant station master
Station master
The station master was the person in charge of railway stations, in the United Kingdom and some other countries, before the modern age. He would manage the other station employees and would have responsibility for safety and the efficient running of the station...
in the Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
, Goel came up through the Vaish school and college in Rohtak
Rohtak
Rohtak City is a Municipal Corporation in Rohtak district that styles itself as the "Heart of Haryana". It is located 70 km Northwest of New Delhi and 210 km South of the state capital Chandigarh at the NH 10...
.His first major success was for North Zone schools in 1957 when he took four wickets against West Zone in the final of the All-India schools tournament and was declared the best bowler of the competition. He made his Ranji debut in the next season. Goel credits his early success to his teacher and coach Kishan Dayal. He started his first class career with Patiala, which then evolved into the Southern Punjab team. He moved to Delhi in 1963 and Haryana ten years later.
Goel appeared for India against Ceylon in an unofficial Test at Ahmedabad
Sardar Patel Stadium
Sardar Patel Stadium is one of the premier Cricket stadiums of India located in the Motera locality of Ahmedabad. Because of its location, the stadium is commonly called Motera Stadium to avoid confusion with another stadium of the same name in Navrangpura locality of Ahmedabad. Sardar Patel...
in 1964-65 where he took 4 for 33 in the second innings. Thereafter,
the presence of the "Indian spin quartet
Indian spin quartet
The Indian spin quartet is the collective name given to the Indian spin bowlers of the 1960s and 70s: Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan , Bhagwat Chandrasekhar , and Bishen Singh Bedi . Between them, they played 231 Test matches taking 853 wickets...
", especially Bishen Bedi who bowled similar style, restricted his appearances for India. When Bedi was dropped from the team for the Bangalore
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium , located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is one of the cricket stadiums of India. Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, Cubbon and uptown MG Road, this four decade old stadium is situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore. Formerly known as the Karnataka...
Test against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in 1974-75 on disciplinary grounds for appearing in a BBC interview, Goel was selected to the Indian team but was excluded at the last moment. He also took 6-102 and 3-43 against the Australians in 1979-80. Goel rated his 12-134 against the South Zone in the 1975-76 Duleep Trophy
Duleep Trophy
The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India between teams representing geographical zones of India. The competition is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji .-History:...
as his most satisfying performance.
Goel went past V. V. Kumar's
Vaman Kumar
Vaman Viswanath Kumar is a former Indian cricketer who played in 2 Tests in 1961....
Ranji record of 417 wckets in the 1978-79 season. His 600th wicket was Chandrakant Pandit
Chandrakant Pandit
Chandrakant Sitaram Pandit is a former Indian cricketer who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. After his retirement as a player, Pandit became a cricket coach, enjoying successful stints with the Mumbai cricket team.In the 1980s he was given the status of second wicketkeeper behind...
, caught at deep squareleg in the Ranji semifinal against Bombay
Mumbai cricket team
The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. It is the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, India's top domestic cricket competition, with 39 titles, the most recent being in 2009–10. The team's home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in...
in 1983-84. He retired after taking 39 wickets in 1984-85 season.
Goel's 640 wickets is a record by a long way, Srinivas Venkataraghavan with 530 wickets being the next best. He took more than 25 Ranji wickets in a season fifteen times, including in his last nine seasons. Haryana reached the Ranji semifinal thrice during Goel's time but lost on each occasion. Their first appearance in the final happened in the season after his retirement.
Goel is one of two non-Test cricketers, the other being Padmakar Shivalkar
Padmakar Shivalkar
Padmakar Kashinath Shivalkar is a former Indian first class cricketer. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Shivalkar spent over 20 years playing for Mumbai and is the team's highest wicket taker of all time. He was almost 50 when he retired.-References:*...
, who Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
chose among his "idols" in his book the same name. "He is the one bowler whom I am have really dreaded facing in my life", he wrote about Goel, "I have never been able to feel comfortable against his left hand spinners and Goel has been one who, because of his flatter trajectory, has not given me the opportunity to step down the track and drive". However, Gavaskar considered Bedi
Bedi
Bedi can refer to:* Bedi clan, clan in India* Bedi, Gujarat, census town in Jamnagar district, India* Freda Bedi, Tibetan Buddhist nun...
the greater bowler overall.
During his playing days, Goel was employed with the State Bank of India. He later served as a selector for Haryana and the Indian junior teams. His son Nitin Goel was also a first class cricketer.