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Bengal cricket team

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Bengal cricket team
Personnel
CaptainManoj Tiwary (FC)
Sudip Kumar Gharami (List A & T20)
CoachLaxmi Ratan Shukla
OwnerCricket Association of Bengal
Team information
Colours  Dark Blue   Yellow
Founded1889
Home groundEden Gardens
Capacity66,349[1]
History
First-class debutAustralia
in 1935
at Eden Gardens, Calcutta
Ranji Trophy wins2
Vijay Hazare Trophy wins1
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wins1
Official websiteCAB

In India, the Bengal cricket team represents the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in domestic competition. Based at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, they have played first-class cricket since 1935. Bengal have won the Ranji Trophy twice and been runners-up 13 times. They also play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, both of which they have won once. Several international cricketers have played for the team including Dilip Doshi, Sourav Ganguly, Deep Dasgupta, Mohammed Shami, Pankaj Roy, and Wriddhiman Saha.

History

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Ground of the Calcutta Cricket Club, 15 Jan'y. 1861 H.M. 68th L.I. from Rangoon, versus the Calcutta Cricket Club, a lithograph after a watercolour by Percy Carpenter, depicting a Calcutta Cricket Club match played at Eden Gardens.

The Calcutta Cricket Club was founded in 1792 with membership restricted to Europeans.[2][3] The team's earliest known match was reported 23 February 1792 in the Madras Courier, Calcutta playing a team from Barrackpore and Dumdum.[4] Eden Gardens was established as the club's home stadium in 1864. It had been a park called Auckland Circus Gardens, named after George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, who was the Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1842. It was renamed Eden Gardens in 1841, in honour of Auckland's two sisters.[4][5][6]

For the first time, a team representing Bengal was formed in December 1889 for a match against an English touring team at Eden Gardens.[4] At that time, no native Bengalis were involved and the team, captained by British Army officer Cleveland Greenway, was composed of European colonials who were mostly British expatriates. Bengal lost the match, played over the New Year period, by an innings and 17 runs.[7] In January 1923, a Bengal team took part in the Nagpur Provincial Tournament and, having defeated a Central Provinces XI in their semi-final, lost the final against Bombay. The Bengal team in this competition included a couple of native players but, as before, it was principally a colonial enterprise.[8] The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) was founded in 1928 and has governance of all cricket in West Bengal, including management of the Bengal team.[9]

Manoj Tiwary is Bengal's current first-class captain.

In 1934, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised the Ranji Trophy but Bengal did not take part in 1934–35. Bengal achieved first-class status in December 1935 when they played the Australian tourists. Bengal were captained by Alec Hosie and the team included Shute Banerjee. Although the Australian team on that tour was a mixed bag of veterans and fringe players, they easily defeated Bengal by 9 wickets.[10][11]

In January 1936, Bengal joined the Ranji Trophy, playing in the East Zone, and reached the semi-final where they lost to Madras. In 1936–37, Bengal were runners-up to Nawanagar. Two years later, in 1938–39, Bengal won the Ranji for the first time when they defeated Southern Punjab in the final.[12] Throughout this period, Bengal was essentially a West Bengal team. They were based in Calcutta and played all their matches at Eden Gardens. The earliest match of note in Dhaka was in February 1941 when a Bengal Governor's XI played the Bengal Gymkhana at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, then called the Dacca Stadium.[13] Following Partition of India in 1947, Bengal was split into West (India) and East (then Pakistan, now Bangladesh).

Bengal won their second Ranji Trophy in 1989–90 when they defeated Delhi in the final.[14] To 2023, In addition to their two titles, Bengal have been runners-up 13 times, most recently in 2022–23, and only Bombay/Mumbai have appeared in more finals.[15]

Having won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2011, Bengal won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2012. Playing under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, they defeated Mumbai in the final at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi on 12 March 2012.[16]

Author Mihir Bose, writing in 1990, commented that cricket's first secure foothold in India was Calcutta Cricket Club, founded 1792 and only five years younger than Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Despite continuing enthusiasm for the sport in Bengal, it is overshadowed by Mumbai as "the centre for Indian cricket".[17] Bose describes Eden Gardens as "one of the great Test match centres of the world", but he laments the relative lack of Bengali Test players saying that only "a handful" has played Test cricket.[17]

To the end of 2023, Bengal have played in a total of 450 first-class matches, 446 of them in the Ranji Trophy. The exceptions are the team's inaugural first-class match against the 1935/36 Australians; Marylebone Cricket Club in December 1951; the Commonwealth XI in December 1953; and the 1990/91 Irani Cup against Rest of India.[18]

Home grounds

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Eden Gardens today

Honours

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Players

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Current squad

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Updated as on 18 February 2024.

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

Name Birth date Batting Bowling Notes
Batters
Sudip Kumar Gharami (1999-03-21) 21 March 1999 (age 25) RHB OB List A and Twenty20 captain.[19][20]
Anustup Majumdar (1984-04-30) 30 April 1984 (age 40) RHB LB Played for Railways in 2014/15.[21][22]
Manoj Tiwary (1985-11-14) 14 November 1985 (age 38) RHB LB First-class captain.[23][24]
Abhimanyu Easwaran (1995-09-06) 6 September 1995 (age 28) RHB LB Non-international, but has been a standby for India Test squads.[25][26]
Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (1995-11-20) 20 November 1995 (age 28) RHB RM [27][28]
Shreyansh Ghosh (1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 29) LHB LB [29]
Wicket-keepers
Abishek Porel (2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 (age 21) LHB Has played for Delhi Capitals in IPL.[30][31]
Shakir Habib Gandhi (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 24) RHB [32][33]
Sourav Paul (1999-09-08) 8 September 1999 (age 24) LHB [34]
All-rounders
Karan Lal (2000-10-19) 19 October 2000 (age 23) RHB OB Under-19 international.[35][36]
Shahbaz Ahmed (1994-12-12) 12 December 1994 (age 29) LHB SLA Has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Indian Premier League (IPL).[37][38]
Ranjot Singh Khaira (1998-10-14) 14 October 1998 (age 25) RHB LB [39][40]
Seam bowlers
Mohammed Kaif (1996-12-10) 10 December 1996 (age 27) RHB RFM Brother of Mohammed Shami. Also known as Kaif Ahmed.[41][42]
Ishan Porel (1998-09-05) 5 September 1998 (age 25) RHB RFM [43][44]
Akash Deep (1996-12-15) 15 December 1996 (age 27) RHB RFM Has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL.[45][46] Also played for india international
Suraj Jaiswal (1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 (age 24) RHB RM [47]
Mukesh Kumar (1993-10-12) 12 October 1993 (age 30) RHB RFM Has played for Delhi Capitals in IPL.[48][49] Played for india in all three formats
Suman Das (1999-06-20) 20 June 1999 (age 25) RHB RM [50][51]
Saksham Chaudhary (1999-09-15) 15 September 1999 (age 24) LHB LM [52][53]
Ravi Kumar (2003-10-29) 29 October 2003 (age 20) LHB LM Has played in ten Under-19 ODIs for the India Under-19s.[54][55]
Spin bowlers
Pradipta Pramanik (1998-10-08) 8 October 1998 (age 25) RHB SLA [56][57]
Ankit Mishra (1996-10-02) 2 October 1996 (age 27) RHB SLA [58]
Kaushik Maity (1999-10-14) 14 October 1999 (age 24) LHB SLA [59][60]

Note - Mohammed Shami is also part of Bengal cricket team but has not played since 2019 due to national team duty or injuries.

Notable former players

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Further information: List of Bengal cricketers
Sourav Ganguly captained India for five years.

The following Bengal cricketers hold team records or have made international appearances in Test, ODI or T20I matches.

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Eden Gardens, Kolkata". Board of Cricket Control in India. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ Bhaumik, Mallika (18 February 2021). "The British hangover of Kolkata's elite clubs". Kolkata: Get Bengal News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ Gupta, Sujoy (1 January 2002). Seventeen Ninety Two: A History of the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club. Kolkata: Calcutta Cricket & Football Club. p. 180. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Chronology of Sports Events. West Bengal Department of Youth Services and Sports, 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  5. ^ Bag, Shamik (January 2000). "In the shadow of Eden". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Eden Gardens". Kolkata City Tours. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. ^ Guha, 2001, pp. 33–37.
  8. ^ Nagpur Provincial Tournament itinerary, 1923. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. (subscription required)
  9. ^ Early History of Bengal Cricket leading to the formation of the Cricket Association of Bengal in 1928. Bengal Cricket Association. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  10. ^ Bengal v Australians, December 1935. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  11. ^ Bengal v Australians, December 1935. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. (subscription required)
  12. ^ "Chronology of Important Sports Events — West Bengal". wbsportsandyouth.gov.in. Kolkata: Government of West Bengal – Department of youth services and sports. 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. ^ Bengal Governor's XI v Bengal Gymkhana, 1941. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. (subscription required)
  14. ^ "The Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  15. ^ Ranji Trophy Winners (from 1934/35). Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Final: Bengal v Mumbai at Delhi, March 12, 2012. Cricket Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  17. ^ a b Bose, 1990, p. 18.
  18. ^ First-class matches played by Bengal. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. (subscription required)
  19. ^ Sudip Kumar Gharami, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  20. ^ Sudip Kumar Gharani, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  21. ^ Anustup Majumdar, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  22. ^ Anustup Majumdar, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  23. ^ Manoj Tiwary. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  24. ^ Manoj Tiwary. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  25. ^ Abhimanyu Easwaran, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  26. ^ Abhimanyu Easwaran, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  27. ^ Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  28. ^ Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  29. ^ [1], ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  30. ^ Abishek Porel, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  31. ^ Abhishek Porel, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  32. ^ Habib Gandhi, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  33. ^ Habib Gandhi, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  34. ^ [2], ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  35. ^ Karan Lal, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  36. ^ Karan Lal, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  37. ^ Shahbaz Ahmed. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  38. ^ Shahbaz Ahmed. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  39. ^ Ranjot Khaira, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  40. ^ Ranjot Khaira, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)
  41. ^ Mohammed Kaif. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  42. ^ Mohammed Kaif. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  43. ^ Ishan Porel. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  44. ^ Ishan Porel. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  45. ^ Akash Deep. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  46. ^ Akash Deep. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  47. ^ [3]. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  48. ^ Mukesh Kumar. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  49. ^ Mukesh Kumar. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  50. ^ Suman Das. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  51. ^ Suman Kumar Das. CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2023. (subscription required)
  52. ^ Saksham Chaudhary. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  53. ^ Saksham Chaudhary. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  54. ^ Ravi Kumar. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  55. ^ Ravi Kumar. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  56. ^ Pradipta Pramanik. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  57. ^ Pradipta Pramanik. CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 November 2023. (subscription required)
  58. ^ [4]. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  59. ^ Kaushik Maity, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  60. ^ Kaushik Maity, CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 November 2023. (subscription required)

Sources

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