Chandrakant Gulabrao "Chandu" Borde: A stalwart of Indian cricket in 1950's &1960's : Part 1

Chandrakant Gulabrao "Chandu" Borde  (born 21 July 1934), is a former cricketer who was a member of the Indian team between 1958 and 1970. Following his retirement, Borde became a cricket administrator, serving as the Chairman of national selectors. He has received various awards from the Government of India for his contributions to cricket, on and off the field. His younger brother Ramesh Borde was also a cricketer who played for West Zone and Maharashtra in domestic cricket.

He was one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was a fine middle-order batsman, safe fielder and a handy leg-spinner, too. He also captained the Indian side in a Test match in 1967-68 against Australia. It was back in 1952 that Borde made his First-Class debut for Maharashtra against Bombay. He showed that he was a tenacious batsman by amassing a half-century against a formidable foe and that too he came into bat with his side tottering at 74 for 6.

The next season, he also made his mark as a bowler by a picking up a five-for. By 1955-56, he started to play for Baroda. It was the four-wicket haul that he picked up for Baroda against a mighty fine Windies side in a tour game in 1958-59 that finally earned him the chance to play for India.

He didn't exactly start his Test career on a bright note and was even dropped for the third Test against West Indies in Kolkata. He made a welcome return to the side with a hard fought innings of 56 against the likes of Gilchrist and Hall in the next Test in Madras. It was the turning point of his career as he followed it up with a century in the final Test of that series in Delhi. To put the icing on the cake, he composed a brilliant knock of 96 in the second innings as well.