‘Master of his craft’: Tributes pour in for Rajinder Goel on Twitter after Indian domestic legend passes away aged 77

Legendary first-class spinner Rajinder Goel died on Sunday after succumbing to illnesses. He was 77 and is survived by his wife and son Nitin Goel, who has also played First-Class cricket and is a domestic match-referee. “It is a huge loss for the game of cricket and personally for me. He was one of the best, if not the best left-arm spinner that this country has ever seen. His contribution to the game post retirement was massive,” former BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra said, expressing his grief. The left-arm spinner, who was unlucky to have played in the era of Bishan Singh Bedi, had 750 First-Class wickets from 157 games, representing Haryana and North Zone in domestic cricket. It was Bedi who presented him the BCCI’s CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. He played First-Class cricket till age of 44 and before him, Kapil Dev was the greatest cricketer to have emerged from Haryana. Here’s how Twitter reacted to Goel’s demise:

With inputs from PTI.