Baroda Cricket Team is a domestic Indian cricket team based in Vadodara, Gujarat, India. The team is run by the Baroda Cricket Association and governed by BCCI. Moti Bagh Stadium is the team’s home ground.
Baroda Cricket Team is one of the three first-class cricket teams based in the state of Gujarat. The other two teams are Gujarat Cricket Team and Saurashtra Cricket Team.
The team represents the city of Vadodara in domestic leagues and matches.
History of Baroda Cricket Team
Cricket first came to Vadodara in 1934, when Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III hired a Parsi coach to train his sons. During the training, his son Shivajirao developed a keen interest and commendable skills in the game.
As a result, the Maharaja laid the foundation of Cricket in 1934 in Moti Bagh Stadium, a large 700-acre ground, part of the Laxmi Vilas palace owned by the Gaekwads.
Afterwards, Maharaja Shivajirao Gaekwad went on to become a first-class Indian cricketer.
Correspondingly, Maharaja Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad, Maharaja Sayajirao’s other son, served as President and Vice-President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It must be remembered that he still holds the record of being the youngest BCCI president in India.
He was the manager of the Baroda Cricket Association from 1960. Known in England as “Jackie Baroda“, he managed the Indian tour of England in 1959 and of Pakistan in 1978-79 and 1982-83.
Notable Cricketers From The Team
Baroda Cricket Team was officially recognised as a first-class cricket team in the 1930s. Since then, the city has given our country some irreplaceable gems in the field of cricket.
Henceforth, the team has consistently produced talented players who have gone on to represent India at the international level, further cementing Baroda’s reputation as a cricketing powerhouse in the domestic circuit.
Legendary cricket players Vijay Hazare, the Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yusuf Pathan) and most recently the Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal Pandya) come from Vadodara.
One of the greatest Indian batsmen, all-rounders and winner of the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards, the invincible Kapil Dev also played for the Team.
Vijay Hazare:
Vijay Samuel Hazare was a prominent Indian Cricketer who played for the cricket team of Baroda. In honour of his immaculate skills and contribution to India’s cricketing landscape, Vijaye Hazare has a domestic one-day cricket championship named after him called the ‘Vijay Hazare Trophy’.
Irfan Pathan:
Irfan Pathan is a former International Indian Cricketer who is known for his all-round capabilities on the field.
He made his debut in domestic cricket from the Baroda Cricket Team and contributed greatly to the team’s success in the Ranji Trophy.
Yusuf Pathan:
Yusuf Pathan is a former Indian Cricketer and younger brother of Irfan Pathan. He was part of the Indian Cricket team in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
Pathan was born in Baroda, Gujarat and made his debut in the domestic cricket team of his city. He is known to be an excellent batsman and off-spin bowler.
Hardik Pandya:
Hardik Himanshu Pandya is an Indian international cricket player currently playing for the Indian Cricket Team. He debuted in domestic cricket from Baroda and still plays for the team.
Pandya is an all-rounder right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He is one of the world’s finest players in white-ball cricket.
Krunal Pandya:
Krunal Himanshu Pandya is Hardik Pandya’s elder brother and captain of the Baroda Cricket Team.
He made his first-class domestic cricket debut in 2016, playing for the Ranji Trophy as part of the Baroda Cricket Team.
Successively, he made his international debut in 2018, playing for the Indian Cricket Team. Krunal is an all-rounder player.
Here is a list of some of the finest and most famous players the team has produced:
- C. S. Nayudu
- Hemu Adhikari
- Jayasinghrao Ghorpade
- Gul Mohammad
- Anshuman Gaekwad
- Datta Gaekwad
- Vijay Hazare
- Nayan Mongia
- Amir Elahi
- Rashid Patel
- Kiran More
- Pinal Shah
- Yusuf Pathan
- Irfan Pathan
- Munaf Patel
- Zaheer Khan
- Hardik Pandya
- Krunal Pandya
- Ambati Rayudu
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Baroda Cricket Team’s journey at the Ranji Trophy Tournaments.
The Ranji Trophy is the premiere first-class cricket championship in India. The tournament is organized annually by the BCCI.
Baroda cricket team is one of the 38 cricket teams that play for the trophy every year. Moreover, since its inception, the Team has become a prominent force in the Ranji Trophy tournament.
Especially in the 1950s and 1960s, the Team enjoyed considerable success in the Ranji Trophy, winning the prestigious tournament multiple times and becoming one of the most successful teams in the competition in the new millennium.
Accordingly, the Baroda squad were winners of the Trophy in the years 1942–43, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1957–58, 2000–01 and were runners up in the years 1945–46, 1948–49, 2001–02, 2010–11.
Apart from the Ranji Trophy, the team also participated in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and are proud two-time winners of the title in 2011-12 and 2013-14.
Current Squad of Baroda Cricket Team
Currently, the BTC is running under the captaincy of Krunal Himanshu Pandya.
Current Squad of the team:
Batters of the team:
- Shashwat Rawat
- Bhanu Pania
- Jyotsnil Singh
- Dhruv Patel
- Harsh Desai
- Shivalik Sharma
- Kinit Patel
All-rounders:
- Krunal Pandya
- Hardik Pandya
- Abhimanyu Rajput
Wicket-keepers
- Mitesh Patel
- Vishnu Solanki
- Anant Bharwad
Spin Bowlers
- Mahesh Pithiya
- Bhargav Bhatt
- Kartik Kakade
- Ninad Rathva
Pace Bowlers
- Akash Singh
- Lukman Meriwala
- Soyeb Sopariya
- Atit Sheth
- Babashafi Pathan
Baroda Cricket Team: A Rich History of Representation
All in all, the cricket team of Baroda has a rich history of representation and augmenting talent.
Furthermore, the cricket culture it has established over the years in the state of Gujarat is reason enough for emerging young talents to get inspired by the team’s prowess and achievements.
Above all, the team has not only given us excellent players but has also produced some fine coaches, subsequently contributing to the team’s overall participation in the landscape of domestic India Cricket.
