If he had been alive, he would have been 74 years old today. Who is he? — Gopal Bose. But who is this Gopal Bose? When the next generation asks this question, they will recognize a former Bengali cricketer when they search Google. But Neville Cardus said, "The scoreboard is an ass." Gopal Bose did not play in the Tests. But if given the opportunity, he would prove himself. Yet Gopal Bose remains memorable. Although he is a tragic hero, he is still a hero!
He is a former cricketer for today's generation. But Gopal Bose is not just a cricketer in the memory of those cricket-crazy people of the seventies. With the exception of Pankaj Roy's successful career, it was still a big dream for the Bengalis to be regular in the Test team. Gopal Bose, the lean, bespectacled, stylish left-handed opener was one of the pioneers of that dream.
No, he never got a chance to play Tests officially. Gopal did not get a chance in international cricket except for one ODI match. But despite that, he will remain one of the brightest cricketers of that era and this regret will remain with him that it was cricket-politics that removed him from the international cricket arena. The dream of a young man with great potential failed.
India won the West Indies tour in 1981 and that tour marked the rise of 'Sunny' in Indian cricket. Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. 774 runs in the first series. After that he did not look back. But at the same time, Bose also started playing in the Bengal team. He was also one of the contenders to join the national team.
In the end, Bose did not get a chance. But he had already played Tests and he scored three-digit runs in his debut Test. Yes, Gopal Bose is supposed to have the record of scoring a Hundred in the inaugural Test before Sourav Ganguly, but since that Test against Sri Lanka did not get the official recognition, Gopal's success did not find a place in the record books. Although his name is not in the record book, Gopal Bose will remain vivid forever in the hearts of Bengalis.
India fell behind by 141 runs in the first innings of that unofficial Test in Colombo, Gavaskar and Bose added 194 runs for the opening wicket to save India from a disaster. 104 came from Gopal's bat and he made 54 and 5 in the next match.
Even after this, Gopal did not get a chance to play a single Test in the England tour. But before the series, Gopal scored 77 runs in the preparation match of the Indian XI and the rest of the Indian team. It was not easy to drop him from the squad. He also played well in England, not only with the bat, but also with the ball, he took 4 wickets for 23 runs in a match. Even after that, he didn't get a chance to open with 'Little Master'. In that infamous 'Summer of 42', India was doomed. The worst performance was — all out for only 42 runs in the second Test. However, Solkar, Farooq Engineer, Sudhir Naik got a chance but he did not get a single chance to open! There was only one chance like a consolation prize in the ODIs where he became the first cricketer from Bengal to play an ODI which was incidentally only the second ODI that India played. He had scored 13 at No. 3 and scalped David Llyod’s wicket for 39 with his off-breaks.
That's the end. Though Bose continued to play for the state team till 1977-78 even after this. But the Bengal opener should have been part of the 1975 Madras Test against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies which India won by 100 runs. He was among the 14 players in the squad but the think-tank preferred Eknath Solkar as Farokh Engineer’s opening partner as an injured Sunil Gavaskar did not play that Test, but the team management left Bose out at the last minute.
At the domestic level he was a gem with his all-round skills: Bose had scored 3,757 runs at an average of 30.79 in 78 first-class games with eight hundreds and 17 fifties. He also took 72 wickets at 26.97, including one five-for, with his handy off-breaks (5/67 vs Haryana, 1977-78 Ranji Trophy). He made his First-Class debut against Bihar at 21 only and picked up 2 wickets for 4. Playing for East Zone Bose scored his maiden First-Class hundred (113) in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone against the bowling line-up consisted of Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan. The best innings came in the Irani Trophy (1973-74): Bose smashed 170 for Rest of India against the powerful Bombay side. That innings earned him a place in the 1974 Indian squad.
Like Shute Banerjee, Subrata Guha and many other Bengalis, this talented legend also lived his life as a tragic hero. But even if he doesn't get a chance in the national team, Gopal Basu will remain in the hearts of Bengalis as a hero who never gave up. Like an eternal epitaph.
✍️ Subham Dey
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