Vikram Banerjee

Vikram Banerjee is a left-arm spinner who complements a well-rounded Gloucestershire attack and has proved particularly effective in limited-overs cricket. He caught the eye at the end of the 2006 season, signing a professional contract as soon as he had finished his university studies, and the following year, in his first full season of Championship cricket, he picked up 26 wickets.

Although born in Leeds, he has made his way to Gloucestershire via the Warwickshire age groups (Under-13 to Under-21) where his positive attitude and ability to turn the ball sharply away from right handers earned him plenty of plaudits including the 2006 Denis Compton Award. He spent time in India in 2002 playing at club level which further enhanced his skills and was described by his team-mates at Cambridge University as having "fingers like Paul Daniels".

After only a handful of matches for the second XI Banerjee was playing in the County Championship, but after a promising start he has found wickets hard to come by in first-class cricket. Nevertheless, he extended his Gloucestershire contract ahead of the 2009 season and that winter spent three weeks in South Africa as part of the England Performance Squad.

He enjoyed reasonable success the following season, picking up 23 wickets at 34.47 in Division Two of the County Championship, but started 2011 as a regular in the Second XI.
Alan Curr June 2011