Who is the Second Greatest Bengali Cricketer after Sourav Ganguly from West Bengal (India)?

This is a big debatable question. Many people says its Wriddhiman Saha. But is Wriddhiman the Second All-time Great Bengali Cricketer after Sourav Ganguly? Answer is No. There is no doubt that Wriddhiman Saha became a good cricketer, but he is certainly not the second greatest Bengali Cricketer. Yes, you can say that, he is the greatest Wicket Keeper from West Bengal/Bengal, but as a complete cricketer there are more “great” cricketers from Bengal. 

Let's find out the truth.

Sourav Ganguly is the Greatest Bengali Cricketer of all time - there is no doubt about that. But beside him, there are Jhulan Goswami and Pankaj Roy. And then comes Wriddhiman Saha in the list.

I’m telling you one by one:

Pankaj Roy:

He is best known for his world record opening partnership of 413 with Vinoo Mankad, Pankaj Roy, played 43 Tests for India. The record stood for 52 years and was broken only in 2008 when Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie made 415 runs for the opening wicket against Bangladesh.

Roy's Test career was full of contrasts; a brilliant series would be followed by a run of poor scores, which would then be followed by a string of good ones. Roy made his Test debut against England in Delhi. Even though he could only manage 12 runs in his debut innings, he justified his inclusion in the side with two centuries in the series. Roy made five centuries during his Test career, amassing 2442 runs in 79 innings at an average of 32.56. He also led India in a Test match in England in 1959, a game that England won by 8 wickets. In a first-class career that lasted 185 matches, Roy scored 33 tons and 50 fifties, collecting 11868 runs at an average of 42.38.

Jhulan Goswami:

If you don’t discriminate male & female cricketer, then Jhulan must be the “Second greatest Bengali Cricketer” of all time. Look at her career:

Having started off a pure bowler, Goswami slowly but steadily earned the reputation of India's leading allrounder with some handy contributions with the bat lower down the order. Along with Mithali Raj, Goswami put together a world record seventh-wicket partnership worth 157 against the hosts at Taunton in 2002. Four years down the line, her career-best 10-wicket haul at the same venue propelled India to a historic Test series win on foreign soil.

Goswami bagged the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year award in 2007 and captaincy came calling soon after, though she has enjoyed moderate success rate. She had another feather added to her cap when the Government of India conferred her with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2010, and the Padma Shri two years later. Beside that, she is the Highest Wicket taker of Women’s Cricket.

Wriddhiman Saha:

Yes, he is currently the No. 1 Wicket-Keeper of Indian cricket team as well as he is the one of the best keepers of India of all time. His batting average is also not that bad.

Its bad luck for him that MS Dhoni - the legend is contemporary cricketer with him and playing for the same nation. Otherwise, he could get more opportunities and fame.

There are few more great Bengal Cricketers, who did well in their domestic career. I’d want to mention some names here like- Pranab Roy, Ambar Roy, Sambaran Banerjee, Utpal Chatterjee, Ranadeb Basu, Laxmi Ratan Sukla, Monoj Tewary; Ashok Dinda etc.

Mohammed Shami, currently one of the best Fast Bowlers of India, is selected also from Bengal region. But originally he is not a bengalee, his origin is Uttar Pradesh.

Stats/Pictures Coursey: CricBuzz ; Wikipedia ; google.com

Thanks for reading! Comment on my blog if you have any argument.

Cheers. :)