Arun Lal

Arun Lal was not the most spontaneously gifted of cricketers but compensated with an abundance of blood, sweat and toil that marked him out from his peers for higher laurels. With his father, uncle, and cousin all having been top performers in the Ranji Trophy, Arun's cricketing pedigree was impeccable.

Although an underachiever at the highest level, he was a prodigious performer in domestic cricket and retired in fifth position in the all time Ranji run aggregates, with 6760 runs at 53.23. Having played six seasons for Delhi without unveiling his latent abilities, Arun made a strategic move to Bengal in 1980-81 which struck pay dirt. Summoned for a Test call-up against Sri Lanka in 1982 at the relatively late age of 27, he responded with 63 in his debut innings. Arun was not a conspicuous success on the tour of Pakistan which followed where many an experienced hand came a cropper against Imran Khan. Biding his time during the four years of exile that followed, he burst into a frenzy of activity in the 1986-87 season with identical scores of 287 in the Ranji pre-quarters and the Duleep semis. Rewarded with a Test place against Pakistan at his adopted home in Calcutta when Sunil Gavaskar refused to play there, Arun made a firm statement of purpose with two half centuries. After Sunny's retirement, followed a sequence of 11 successive Test appearances which began promisingly enough against the West Indies at home as he made his highest Test score of 93 at Calcutta. But his career ended limply against the same opposition away in 1989.

Arun Lal's last hurrah was in the 1989-90 Ranji season when Bengal won the title after 51 years, with his most important contribution being a knock of 189 that helped shut out Bombay in the quarters.
Sankhya Krishnan