Gopal Bose, former India player, passes away
According to news reports, Gopal Bose was in London on a visit when a long-standing kidney ailment resurfaced. He had been in ICU for three days.
Bose first broke through in first-class cricket in the 1968-69 season and continued playing for a decade, during which he accumulated 3757 runs at an average of 30.79. He had a knack for playing lengthy knocks. He also bowled part-time off-spin and took 72 wickets in long-form cricket.
He was part of India's squad for the England tour in 1974, and featured in one one-day international – his only appearance for India – at The Oval. He scored 13 runs in the match and took the wicket of David Lloyd.
Shattered to hear about the demise of Gopal Bose, loved discussing cricket with him. Difficult to find a better student and a teacher of the game. You will be missed sir 🙏🙏
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) August 26, 2018
He was seen as a potential opening partner to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, and gained the selectors' attention after scoring 170 for Rest of India against Bombay in the Irani Trophy. He was picked for an unofficial Test against Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and made a century. But he was unable to keep up that form on the tour games of the 1974 series, and was left out of the Test playing XI.
Bose continued his association with the sport well after playing his last competitive match. He was the selector and coach of the Bengal junior team, and was also appointed manager for the Virat Kohli-led India Under-19 side during the 2008 Under 19 World Cup, which the team won.