Bengal cricket team
Bengal are an Indian cricket team who represent the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in domestic competition. Based at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Bengal have played first-class cricket since 1935. They have won the Ranji Trophy twice and been runners-up 13 times.[2][3] Bengal 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, Mohammed Shami, Pankaj Roy, and Wriddhiman Saha.
Personnel | |
---|---|
Captain | Manoj Tiwary (FC) Abhimanyu Easwaran (List A & T20) |
Coach | Laxmi Ratan Shukla |
Owner | Cricket Association of Bengal |
Team information | |
Colours | Dark Blue Yellow |
Founded | 1889 |
Home ground | Eden Gardens |
Capacity | 66,349[1] |
History | |
First-class debut | Australia in 1935 at Eden Gardens, Calcutta |
Ranji Trophy wins | 2 |
Vijay Hazare Trophy wins | 1 |
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wins | 1 |
Official website | CAB |
History
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.[5] 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.[6] In 1934, the Board of Control for Cricket in India 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 and were defeated by 9 wickets. 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.[7] 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.[8] Following Partition of India in 1947, Bengal was split into West (India) and East (then Pakistan, now Bangladesh). To 2023, Bengal have been runners-up 13 times and only Mumbai have appeared in more finals. Bengal won the Ranji again in 1989–90 when they defeated Delhi in the final.[9]
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.[10]
Home grounds
- Eden Gardens, Kolkata – the second largest stadium in India and also the home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders
- Jadavpur University Campus Ground, Jadavpur – leased out to the Cricket Association of Bengal, it hosts inter-state and intra-state matches
- Bengal Cricket Academy, Kalyani
- Deshbandu Park, North Kolkata – hosted matches of Vinoo Mankad Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy, Vijay Merchant Trophy and Polly Umrigar Trophy
International cricketers who have played for Bengal

Name | Test | ODI | T20 |
---|---|---|---|
Montu Banerjee | 1 | ||
Gopal Bose | 1 | ||
Utpal Chatterjee | 3 | ||
Nirode Chowdhury | 2 | ||
Deep Dasgupta | 8 | 5 | |
Ashok Dinda | 13 | 9 | |
Dilip Doshi | 33 | 15 | |
Devang Gandhi | 4 | 3 | |
Sourav Ganguly | 113 | 311 | |
Rohan Gavaskar | 11 | ||
Subrata Guha | 4 | ||
Saba Karim | 1 | 34 | |
Mohammed Shami | 60 | 82 | 17 |
Mukesh Kumar | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Arun Lal | 16 | 13 | |
Saradindu Mukherjee | 3 | ||
Ambar Roy | 4 | ||
Pankaj Roy | 43 | ||
Pranab Roy | 2 | ||
Wriddhiman Saha | 40 | 9 | |
Probir Sen | 14 | ||
Shahbaz Ahmed | 3 | 2 | |
Laxmi Ratan Shukla | 3 | ||
Manoj Tiwary | 12 | 3 | |
Prashant Vaidya | 4 | ||
Current squad
Updated as of 16 February 2023. Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
Batters | ||||
Sudip Gharami | 21 March 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Abhimanyu Easwaran | 6 September 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | List A and Twenty20 captain |
Anustup Majumdar | 30 April 1984 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Ritwik Roy Chowdhury | 20 November 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Koushik Ghosh | 12 October 1992 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Abhishek Das | 4 September 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Ranjot Khaira | 14 October 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Shakir Habib Gandhi | 8 October 1999 | Right-handed | ||
All-rounders | ||||
Shahbaz Ahmed | 12 December 1994 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL |
Manoj Tiwary | 14 November 1985 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | First-class captain |
Karan Lal | 19 October 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Sayan Mondal | 10 November 1989 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Wicket-keepers | ||||
Abhishek Porel | 17 October 2002 | Left-handed | Plays for Delhi Capitals in IPL | |
Agniv Pan | 1 January 1997 | Left-handed | ||
Spin Bowlers | ||||
Pradipta Pramanik | 8 October 1998 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
Writtick Chatterjee | 28 September 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Pace Bowlers | ||||
Mukesh Kumar | 12 October 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | Plays for Delhi Capitals in IPL |
Akash Deep | 15 December 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | Plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL |
Pritam Chakraborty | 16 September 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Ishan Porel | 5 September 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
Geet Puri | 6 September 1994 | Right-handed | Left-arm medium | |
Akash Ghatak | 13 October 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Ravi Kumar | 29 October 2003 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
References
- "EDEN GARDENS, KOLKATA". BCCI. Board of Cricket Control in India. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- Ranji Trophy Winners
- "Sports of West Bengal — Cricket". wbsportsandyouth.gov.in. Kolkata: Government of West Bengal – Department of youth services and sports. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- Sports chronology. Government of West Bengal.
- Guha, pp. 33–37. Ramachandra Guha (2001). A Corner of a Foreign Field.
- Nagpur Provincial Tournament itinerary, 1923
- "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.
- Bengal Governor's XI v Bengal Gymkhana, 1941
- "The Ranji Trophy". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- "Final: Bengal v Mumbai at Delhi, March 12, 2012 | Cricket Scorecard". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2013.