Vasant Ranjane

Who was Vasant Ranjane?

Vasant Baburao Ranjane was an Indian cricketer who played in 7 Tests between 1958 and 1964.

Vasant Ranjane was a 'slightly built, unlikely looking figure for an opening bowler' who relied more on line and length than speed for his wickets, but could 'swing both ways and cut the ball off the seam'.

As a young boy, Ranjane used to frequent the grounds of the Shivaji Preparatory School grounds in Poona where Madhusudan Rege used to coach. He put this to practice at the Sangam Wadi Union Club, from where he was picked by the talent scouts of the Vilas Club. This paved the way for playing in the first division and first class cricket.

Ranjane had a fabulous start to his first class career when he took nine wickets for 35 in an innings on his debut including a hat-trick for Maharashtra against Saurashtra in 1956–57. The role was reversed when he played his first Test two years later against West Indies at Kanpur, when his only wicket was the one missed by Subhash Gupte who took 9 for 102.

He was recalled to the Test side three years later against England where he took ten wickets in three Tests. This was followed by the tour to West Indies in 1961–62. Partly due to the presence off too many all-rounders in the side, Ranjane played only in the final Test where he took the wickets of Conrad Hunte, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers and Frank Worrell.