The Baroda team is based out of Vadodara, a city in Gujarat. It plays its home matches at the Moti Bagh Stadium and the governing body of this team is the Baroda Cricket Association. From 2000 onwards, Baroda has been one of the most prominent teams in the Ranji Trophy. The team was traditionally known for its cricketers during the initial years of the premier first class tournament of India and, of late, has witnessed a surge in talent, especially in the seam bowling department, which has been one of the major reasons behind its performance of late. It is one of the three teams that represent the Gujarat region along with Saurashtra and Gujarat itself.
Baroda won its first ever Ranji Trophy in 1942-43 and then again in 1949-50, which was followed by yet another triumph in the 1957-58 season. After that, it won the Ranji Trophy in 2000-01 season, a gap of 43 years. Till date, this has been its last triumphant campaign in this championship. It has also finished runner-up in 1945-46, 1948-49, 2001-02 and 2010-11.
Colonel Hemachandra Ramachandra Adhikari, also known as Hemu Adhikari, was one of the finest cricketers to represent Baroda. He was mainly a top-order batsman and an occasional purveyor of leg spin. He played his first first-class match as a teen during the 1936-37 season and played his first test match for India during the 1947 India tour of Australia where he created a firm spot for himself in the national team.
In 21 tests, Adhikari scored 872 runs at an average of 31.14 with a century that was also his highest score – 170. It needs to be remembered that he was an active member of the armed forces during his playing days and this hugely limited his availability for the national team. His record in first class cricket shows his true potential. He appeared in 152 first class matches and scored 8683 runs at an average of 41.74. He also scored 17 centuries and his maximum score was an unbeaten innings of 230.
Anshuman Gaekwad was also one of the leading cricketers from Baroda who made his mark as a national player. He was well known for his fantastic defence against fast bowlers and was nicknamed The Great Wall. His first test match was against West Indies in Kolkata, 1974 and his last test match came at the same ground, ten years later, against England. In all he played 40 tests for India scoring 1985 runs at an average of 30.07 with a couple of centuries and a top score of 201. He also appeared in 15 ODIs scoring 269 runs at an average of 26.9 and 1 half century.
Following are other well known cricketers who have represented Baroda in past:
- Datta Gaekwad
- Rashid Patel
- Jayasinghrao Ghorpade
- Kiran More
- Vijay Hazare
- CS Nayudu
- Nayan Mongia
In recent times, the most well known cricketers to have emerged from this team are the Pathan brothers –Irfan and Yousuf – and other well known names like Zaheer Khan, Jacob Martin and Ambati Rayadu.
