He was an eternal trier

RAJINDER GOEL. The name which spells two sides of Indian cricket. One of a pastmaster with the ball as his high quality left-arm spin gave a new thrust to the bowlers around in domestic cricket and the other the image of a spirited cricketer, who toiled so successfully without getting due recognition from the national selectors.

It is not often in cricket that one sees the highest wicket- taker in the premier domestic championship of a country, Ranji Trophy in India, with a tally of 640 victims like Goel find himself relegated to the status of an `eternal trier'. No one could dare to find fault with his bowling. Every nuance of the art of spin bowling was so beautifully demonstrated by this gentle giant in Indian cricket. His only fault was the timing of his career. It clashed with that of the legendary Bishen Singh Bedi.

Significantly, Goel alongwith another great Padmakar Shivalkar wheeled their arm over so menacingly when Bedi's supremacy was unchallenged at the highest level. It is not that Goel and Shivalkar would not have been as successful if they were given the chance to play for the country. Goel played for 27 seasons without break in Ranji Trophy with the first five for Punjab, the next 10 for Delhi and the last 12 for Haryana before finally bowing out in 1984-85. His 640 wickets from 123 matches is a history by itself. Yet, no can beat this champion bowler in his modesty. ``There are absolutely no regrets when I look back at my career,'' says the 60-year-old Goel, who is now the chairman of the junior national selection committee. ``I was not good enough to play for the country and that is the reason why Bedi played,'' was his frank admission. A rarity in current era when lesser mortals move around with airs and less of quality and class. ``There was no way I could get a chance when Bedi was around. He was such a great bowler,'' he repeats with all admiration for the wily Sardar. ``But, I enjoyed bowling particularly for Haryana,'' he adds.

For one whose name will be embellished in Indian domestic cricket with golden letters, Goel feels there is lot of quantity now and less of quality. ``See, in my time we had bowlers of the class of Bedi, Shivalkar, Hyder Ali, Dhiraj Parsanna, Dilip Doshi. All of them really worked hard. They didn't master the art of spin overnight,'' he says pointedly. ``There is no substitute for that,'' he asserts. ``My suggestion to all the youngsters is that they should make it a practice to bowl from opener to No. 11 in the nets. That gives one a fair idea of the variety he may have to bowl in a match situation,'' the great spinner of yesteryear says. ``These things will help one to have total control over the line and length. These are the essential ingredients of spin no matter how big a spinner you might me. If you don't master these two aspects, you would be a zero,'' he asserts. ``Let me tell you frankly that not many of the current crop have the variations in flight, line and length to tease the best of the batsmen,'' Goel said when asked to name some of the most promising he had seen in recent months.

For one who was inspired to take up left-arm spin by hearing on radio the great feats of all-rounder Vinoo Mankad in 1958, Goel feels that the youngsters now should take full advantage of the technology and the communication channels available to improve their skills. ``In our days, we didn't see our performances as extensively covered,'' he lamented. If any budding cricketer needs real motivation without really being in contention for bigger assignments, he need not look beyond this great bowler. For, he finished off his last season too in style claiming 39 wickets from six matches.

Coached by the late Lala Amarnath, Goel was a force to reckon with on admittedly helpful tracks. ``No doubt about that. The strips were really helpful then and not like now,'' he says. It may not be out of place to compare the Kanwaljit Singh- Venkatapathi Raju combine with that of Goel and offie Sarkar Talwar, though Raju has the good fortune of being a Test cricketer. But the prowess of Talwar and Kanwaljit are not in question.

One of the highlights of Goel's career was the emergence of the greatest all-rounder Kapil Dev under his stewardship for Haryana. And, he has some of the most incredible spells which cast a spell of doom for the best in contemporary cricket. The seven for four against Jammu & Kashmir, six for six against Punjab, six for 103 for North Zone against the Kim Hughes-led Australians in 1979.

He rates Bihar's Ramesh Saxena as the best player of spin bowler of his era. And, he narrates how he dismissed the Australian Kim Hughes on the 1979 trip playing for North Zone. ``He was deceived by line and length to see his square cut go straight to the slip fielder and in the second innings Hughes was bowled by the one that came back,'' says Goel with his eyes lit up.

Quite fittingly, Goel is now into coaching in Rohtak, his native place, where he set up the Satpriya Cricket Coaching Centre with an initial strength of 26 trainees. ``There is plenty of talent but what is crucial is how many of them are dedicated and put in real serious effort,'' he says. Significantly, Goel doesn't feel a left-arm spinner bowling over the wicket is negative. ``What is imperative is the line. He should always bowl on the stumps. The use of the crease is vital. The wrist spin is an integral part of any success story of a left-arm spinner,'' he added. Goel proudly recalls the way he bowled his stock ball - the one that cameback into the batsman. ``You can't master any delivery in a hurry,'' he says to another query.

A truly remarkable cricketer is definitely enjoying his role in the junior selection committee with the great distinction of selecting the victorious World Cup under-19 team last year in Colombo and now the team which won the `Test' and one-day series against England.

V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Hyderabad

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