Rajinder Goel

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Rajinder Goel


country = India
fullname =
nickname =
living = true
dayofbirth = 20
monthofbirth = 9
yearofbirth = 1942
placeofbirth = Narwana, Haryana
countryofbirth = India
dayofdeath =
monthofdeath =
yearofdeath =
placeofdeath =
countryofdeath =
heightft =
heightinch =
heightm =
batting = Right-handed
bowling = Slow left-arm orthodox
role = Bowler
family = Nitin Goel (son)

club1 = Patiala
year1 = 1958/59
clubnumber1 =
club2 = Southern Punjab
year2 = 1959/60–1962/63
clubnumber2 =
club3 = Delhi
year3 = 1963/64–1972/73
clubnumber3 =
club4 = Haryana
year4 = 1973/74–1984/85
clubnumber4 =

type1 = First-class
debutdate1 = 23 December
debutyear1 = 1958
debutfor1 = Patiala
debutagainst1 = Services
lastdate1 = 9 March
lastyear1 = 1985
lastfor1 = Haryana
lastagainst1 = Bombay
type2 = List A
debutdate2 = 3 October
debutyear2 = 1974
debutfor2 = North Zone
debutagainst2 = South Zone
lastdate2 = 13 March
lastyear2 = 1985
lastfor2 = Haryana
lastagainst2 = Bengal
deliveries = balls
columns = 2
column1 = First-class
matches1 = 157
runs1 = 1037
bat avg1 = 9.34
100s/50s1 = 0/0
top score1 = 44
deliveries1 = 39929
wickets1 = 750
bowl avg1 = 18.58
fivefor1 = 59
tenfor1 = 18
best bowling1 = 8/55
catches/stumpings1 = 66/–
column2 = List A
matches2 = 8
runs2 = 11
bat avg2 = 5.50
100s/50s2 = 0/0
top score2 = 5*
deliveries2 = 508
wickets2 = 14
bowl avg2 = 20.00
fivefor2 = 0
tenfor2 = n/a
best bowling2 = 4/54
catches/stumpings2 = 3/–

date = 30 September
year = 2008
source = http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/24/24701/24701.html CricketArchive

Rajinder Goel (born 20 September 1942 in Narwana, Haryana) is a former cricketer 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.

Notes

This article follows the Indian sources which credit Goel with 640 Ranji Trophy wickets. According to Robert Brooke's "The Cricketer Book of Cricket Milestones", Goel has 636 wickets, while as per [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/24/24701/f_Bowling_by_Team.html CricketArchive] , the wickets that he took for his four Ranji teams add up to 637. If one goes with Brooke or Cricketarchive, Goel's 600th wicket would be in the match between Haryana and Jammu Kashmir in the 1984-85 season.

References

* Sportstar, March 31, 1984
* Sunil Gavaskar, "Idols", pp 163-166
* Cricinfo interview with Goel : [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/236015.html Light under a bushel]
* Another Cricinfo interview : [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/103880.html "I was born at the wrong time"]

External links

*
*