Legendary bowler Rajinder Goel passes away
Domestic cricket stalwart Rajinder Goel, who is the highest wicket-taker in the history of the Ranji Trophy, on Sunday, passed away, aged 77. Goel, who took a startling 750 first-class wickets between 1958 and 1984, is widely regarded as the finest bowler to have never played for the country.
A week after the demise of Vasant Raji, India’s oldest first-class cricketer, Indian cricket, on Sunday, June 21, lost yet another stalwart, in the form of the legendary Rajinder Goel. Goel, who was 77 years old at the time of his death, was said to have been fighting age-related health issues but the veteran’s battle came to an unfortunate end on Sunday.
A left-arm spinner who is widely regarded as the best bowler to have never played for the country, Goel, till date, stands tall as the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy, having picked up a staggering 640 wickets in the competition in his career that spanned a remarkable 26 years.
Born in Narwana, Haryana, Goel played a total of 158 first-class games between 1958 and 1984 and picked up a remarkable 750 wickets. The legendary left-arm spinner, however, unfortunately never got a look into the Indian Test side, owing to the spin-quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, B. S. Chandrashekhar, E. A. S. Prasanna and S. Venkataraghvan excelling at the international level.
In fact, Bedi, in his column for Cricbuzz earlier today, paid tribute to Goel and said that the latter was a much better bowler than he ever was. Bedi described Goel not playing international cricket as an ‘unjust’ outcome and added that he, himself, was just lucky to have played international cricket over the late left-arm spinner.
“It's unjust that 'Goeli' - with 750 first-class wickets, 637 of them in the Ranji Trophy alone, the highest ever - will forever be known as the finest spinner never to have played for India. While it is highly unfortunate that he never got the India cap, 'Goeli' had no regrets. He was a contented soul," Bedi wrote on Cricbuzz.
“When I made my debut, he was a much better bowler than I was, but I was simply lucky I got the break. Even when I was kept out because of disciplinary reasons in the 1974-75 West Indies Test, they didn't play him. Maybe if they had, India would have won.”
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