Former India And Bengal Batsman Gopal Bose Dies At 71
Former India and Bengal cricketer Gopal Bose died on Sunday after battling an illness in London. Bose died at the age of 71.
According to local report, he was in London, spending some time with his sons. During the vacation, he complained of chest pain and was admitted to a nearby hospital. Soon, the doctors also diagnosed problems in his kidneys. Bose spent over 12 hours in the Intensive Care Unit. The condition improved for a while. However, his condition started deteriorating from Saturday night and he succumbed to his illness in the early hours on Sunday.
Bose will be remembered as one of the finest servants of Indian cricket. He was a right-handed batsman known for his wide variety of strokes. He played a single One-Day International for India and an unofficial Test match against Sri Lanka in 1973, where he scored 73 and 17. He had also shared an 194-run partnership with Sunil Gavaskar.
As a result, he made it to the squad for the tour of England in 1974. He started with a half century in the opening game but then lost his form. Bose scored only 326 runs (20.37) in first class matches. He could not find a place in the Test side but played in the second one day international at the Oval where he scored 13. He also bowled a full quota of 11 overs with his off breaks and picked up the wicket of David Lloyd.
The selectors then picked him in the squad for the home series against West Indies in 1974-75. Bose had made it to the squad because of lack of players to open as Gavaskar was injured. Bose made it to the squad for the fourth Test at Madras. But surprisingly, the selectors left him out of the playing eleven and he was never considered thereafter.
Bose, nonetheless, enjoyed a good first-class career. He amassed 3757 runs from 78 first class matches and took 72 wickets with his off spinners.
He also served as manager of the Indian team for the U-19 World Cup in 2007-2008 and then worked as CAB coach for different age groups.
Tagged:
Indian National Cricket Team
