Former India opener Gopal Bose passes away at 71

Former India batsman and Bengal captain Gopal Krishna Bose passed away in Birmingham on Sunday. He was 71 and undergoing treatment in Birmingham, where his son resides.

Former India opening batsman and Bengal captain Gopal Krishna Bose passed away in Birmingham on Sunday. He was 71 and undergoing treatment in Birmingham, where his son resides.

Bose was the manager of the Virat Kohli led India U-19 side which won the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

A stalwart in domestic cricket and captain of Bengal in the 1970s, Bose was one of the finest openers in India at that time. Known for his patience and ability to handle the new ball made him one of the frontrunners to partner with Sunil Gavaskar in the Indian side in the 70s.

Bose who made his First-class debut in 1968-69 earned a national call-up on the back of a marathon 170-run knock in the Irani Cup against Bombay in 1973-74 season. He was selected as a backup opener for the 1974 England tour and did pretty well in the unofficial tour games.

However, he did not get an opportunity in the Test series and was only included in an ODI in 1974 at the Oval. He was out for 13 and sadly, did not play in the series.

He was also picked in the squad for a 1975 Test match against the West Indies in Chennai when Gavaskar was injured but the erstwhile selection committee decided to promote Eknath Solkar as Farokh Engineer's opening partner. Bose never got a call-up after that.

Along with his batting skills, he was a handy off-spinner too. In his 78 First-class matches for Bengal, he scored 3,757 runs at 30.79 with 8 hundreds along with 72 wickets at 26.97.

After retiring from international cricket, he was an active member of the Cricket Association of Bengal, mentoring young cricketers and working on the development of the game from the grass root level.

He made a name for himself as one of the most respected coaches in Bengal with sharp insight. Some of the Bengal stars of later years like Ranadeb Bose, Devang Gandhi, and Avishek Jhunjhunwala learnt their cricket under Bose's tutelage.

Known to speak his mind, Bose was never a favourite with the establishment in Bengal cricket. It was only after Sourav Ganguly became the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal that he was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  

"Lost a very dear person today ..luckily he was with his entire family in Birmingham ..will miss him ..may his soul rest in peace," former India captain Sourav Ganguly wrote on his twitter page.

Lost a very dear person today ..luckily he was with his entire family in Birmingham ..will miss him ..may his soul rest in peace pic.twitter.com/yiqgMjicSR

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) August 26, 2018

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "Saddened at the passing away of Gopal Bose, former India cricketer, the shining star of Bengal cricket for many years and captain. My condolences to his family, admirers and friends in the sports fraternity."

Saddened at the passing away of Gopal Bose, former India cricketer, shining star of Bengal cricket for many years and captain. My condolences to his family, admirers and friends in the sports fraternity

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 26, 2018

The likes of Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha also expressed their condolences.

Sad 2 inform u al about the demise of our Very own Gopal sir. He was d member of the INDIAN test team nd Captain of bengal cricket and a great Coach as wel in which he helped so many former bengal players 2 achieve their best in cricket. May God help his soul in restin in peace🙏

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) August 26, 2018

RIP Gopal Sir.
Saddened by the news of his passing away. My condolences to the family and relatives. pic.twitter.com/1fyOt3LnQ8

— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) August 26, 2018