Rajinder Goel’s unsung legacy

Rajinder Goel holds the highest wickettaking record in the Ranji Trophy and has played domestic cricket for 27 years, and yet has kept waiting for the chance in international cricket. After the unfortunate demise of the left-arm spinner, the whole country is inquisitive whether the presence of Bishan Singh Bedi in Team India was the reason for his undeserved exclusion. Only one sword can remain in a sheath as Bishan Singh Bedi and Rajinder Goel were both left-arm spinners. While Bedi would use the flighted deliveries to achieve the spin, Goel’s balls would dart through in a flat trajectory, giving batsman less time for short selection and execution.

It is obvious that if Goel was given a chance to bowl on the wickets of Australia and England he would have been more impressive than Bedi. It is ironic why he did not get a chance to play for the Test side? When two off-spinners—E.A.S. Prasanna and Venkataraghavan—could play together in the same match, why didn’t the management include the combination of two left-arm spinners in the squad?

Goel was hopeful to get a cap against the West Indian side in 1974-75. However, his name was missing from the team sheet. Bedi, who did not play this match because of a disciplinary issue, was replaced by two off-spinners in the form of Prasanna and Venkat. This was also the debut test of Vivian Richards. Had he got a chance in that Test, it would have been an opportunity for him to secure a golden spot in the team. Likewise, Goel performed brilliantly in the side matches against Sri Lanka and Australia. However, no attention was paid to him. Nevertheless, he certainly won the hearts of acclaimed cricketers across the country. Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his book Idols that if he had to face Bishan Singh Bedi and Rajinder Goel, he would like to face the former, as Goel owing to his darting spins was unplayable. Goel would restrict the batsman on the back-foot, especially varying the speeds. The pace was a vital feature of his bowling. The batsmen who played spin efficiently were often beaten by Goel’s pace. Vijay Manjrekar, an outstanding batsmen who could play against the spin glibly, also used to play with utmost caution.

Padmakar Shivalkar, another left-arm spinner, considered Goel a bigger spinner than himself. Dilip Vengsarkar had the opportunity to prepare for international matches by playing against Goel.

The problem is that the list of sidelined talent is interminable—Rajinder Goyal, Padmakar Shivalkar, Rajinder Singh Hans, Babu Nimbalkar, A.G. Ram Singh, Amol Mujumdar, Venkataraman Shivramkrishnan Venkat Sundram, K.P. Bhaskar, and many more. Surprisingly, Bishan Singh Bedi, after getting a chance to debut for India’s Test side, admitted that Rajinder Goel was a better bowler than himself.