The state of Gujarat is known for its rich culture and heritage. The state will now earmark itself on the world map with a Gujrati PM. Narendra Modi, according to many, might take over as India’s next Prime Minister.
The state of Gujarat is known for its rich culture and heritage. The state will now earmark itself on the world map with a Gujrati PM. Narendra Modi, according to many, might take over as India’s next Prime Minister. Even though politics is currently hogging the limelight, Indian Premier League is still amongst the news. Cricket has been India’s religion and has produced many stars over the years. The state of Gujarat has produced some of brightest Indian cricketers as we list them below:
Cheteshwar Pujara
Born in Rajkot, Gujarat; Cheteshwar Pujara has taken Indian cricket by storm. Ever since his debut against the Aussies in 2010, Pujara has played over 19 Tests for India and amassed 1650 runs at an average of 58.92. Many cricket pundits and ex-cricketers call him the ‘next Rahul Dravid’ of Indian cricket.
Ravindra Jadeja
Saurashtra-born ‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja is another bright prospect from the Gujarat state. The left-arm spinner, who can also bat at lower order, is one of Indian cricket’s mainstays. ‘Jaddu’ as he is formerly called, also represents the IPL side, the Chennai Super Kings.
Munaf Patel
Another Gujarat-born who went onto represent the national side, Munaf Patel who was born in Ikhar, was part of the 2011 World Cup winning team. Though he has been out of the current Indian squad, Munaf is plying his trade with the Ranji side Baroda.
Ajay Jadeja
One of India’s finest fielders and batsman, Ajay Jadeja burst onto the scene in 1992. Since then, the right-handed batsman went onto play 15 Tests and 196 ODIs for the country. Today, he ply’s his trade as a TV cricket pundit.
Yusuf and Irfan Pathan
The ‘Pathan brothers’, Irfan and Yusuf have had contrasting careers in the Indian cricketing fraternity. Hailing from the city of Baroda, younger sibling Irfan burst onto the scene in the tour Down Under where he terrorised the Aussie batsmen with pace and swing. On the other hand, Yusuf also swung his bat as the former scared many opposition bowlers.
Parthiv Patel
The ‘babyface’ Indian wicketkeeper who made his debut against England back in 2002, Parthiv Patel has yet to make a mark on the Indian selectors. Born in Ahmedabad, Parthiv is currently playing the Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Nari Contractor
Born in Godhra, Nari Contractor was one of finest cricketers ever produced. In his 31 matches played, the southpaw scored 1611 runs at an average of 31.58. Contractor was one of India’s youngest skippers (26) when he took over the reins for the Indo-Pak series of 1960-61.
Nayan Mongia
India had a pool of talented wicketkeepers and one of those was Baroda-born Nayan Mongia. The wicket-keeper batsman went onto represent India in 44 Tests and 140 ODIs. Unfortunately his cricketing career was cut short due the controversy of match-fixing that plagued his career in the early 2000’s.
Vinoo Mankad
Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad or otherwise known as Vinoo Mankad, was one of Indian cricket’s finest all-rounders. Mankad played 44 Tests and scored 2109 runs with an average of 31.47 and also took 162 wickets at 32.31. Mankad who was born in Gujarat in 1917, remains etched in Indian crickets folklore.
Karsan Ghavri
Another Gujarati great that made it big onto the international scene, Karsan Ghavri used his pace and swing to trouble the opposition batsmen. In 39 Tests played, Ghavri accounted to 109 wickets plus also had 2 half-centuries to his name.
Jaidev Unadkat
22-year old Jaidev Unadkat was an unknown quantity until he burst onto the IPL scene. The left-arm pacer represented India in Tests against South Africa in 2010. The Porbandhar-born seamer, till date, has played 7 ODIs for the Men in Blue and chipped 8 wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah who? Was the question on everybody’s lips when the rookie made his IPL debut in 2013 for the Mumbai Indians. The right-arm bowler represents Gujarat in the Ranji trophy and currently plays for the MI side in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
