Chandrakant Gulabrao "Chandu" Borde (born 21 July 1934), is a former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who was a member of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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 The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

for his contributions to cricket, on and off the field. His younger brother

Ramesh Borde Ramesh Gulabrao Borde (22 February 1952 – 8 July 2021) was an Indian cricketer. He played 42 first-class matches and two List A matches between 1972–73 and 1984–85. His elder brother Chandu Borde was also a cricketer. Career He mad ...

was also a cricketer who played for West Zone and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

in domestic cricket. He published his autobiography in July 2018, titled ''Panther's Paces'' (as told to Mohan Sinha).

Personal life

Borde was born into

Marathi Christian Marathi Christians are an Ethno-religious community of the Indian state of Maharashtra who accepted Christianity during the 18th and 19th centuries during the East India Company, and later, the British Raj. Conversions to Protestantism were a ...

family in Pune, having five brothers and five sisters. Borde Considers

Vijay Hazare Vijay Samuel Hazare (11 March 1915 – 18 December 2004) was an Indian cricketer. He captained India in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953. In India's 25th Test match, nearly 20 years after India achieved Test status, he led India to its first ...

His idol and shared the dressing room with him once.

Domestic cricket

Debut

Borde made his debut in 1954/55 domestic season for

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

against

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

in December 1954. He played in the semi-final against

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

and was bowled for a duck. He had more success in the following season, making maiden century against

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. In the 1957/58 Ranji final against

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

, he scored a half-century and picked up 5 wickets in the match. He represented

after a transfer in 1964.

Test cricket

The beginning

Borde made his debut in the First

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

during the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

tour of India. Over the first two Tests, his performance was ordinary and he was dropped for the Third Test in favour of debutant

Ramnath Kenny Ramnath Baburao Kenny (29 September 1930 – 21 November 1985) was an Indian cricketer who played in five Test matches between 1958 and 1960. He was an elegant right handed middle order batsman, "a front foot player with a sound defense" and ...

. After a poor performance from Kenny, Borde was recalled and made his maiden Test half-century. In the Fifth and final Test of the series, Borde made his international breakthrough with a maiden century, 109 and then 96 in the second innings of a drawn match. In the next series, India toured England, and Borde fractured the little finger on the left hand in the First Test, and missed the second Test. Over the next 11 matches, Borde scored only two half-centuries and took 14

wickets In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. * ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

toured India. In the Fourth Test against Pakistan in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, he made 177*, his second century and highest Test score, combining in a 177-run stand with fellow centurion

Polly Umrigar Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (28 March 1926 – 7 November 2006) was an Indian cricketer. He played in Indian cricket team (1948- 1962) and played first-class cricket for Bombay and Gujarat. Umrigar played mainly as a middle-order batsman ...

Contributions in Indian victories

Borde played a key part in India's first victory over

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in the Fourth Test played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, scoring two half centuries (68 and 61) and taking 3 wickets in the First Test. In the next Test in Madras, India won again with Borde taking five wickets. India's tour of the West Indies in 1961/62 was disappointing, resulting in a 5–0 whitewash. Borde had a mediocre series scoring 244 runs at 24.4 and taking only six wickets. He followed it with good performances in the next two series (England in India, and Australian tour of India) scoring 383 at 42.55 and taking ten wickets in eight Tests.

Kiwi pleasure

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

toured India in 1964/65 and Borde took a liking to the opposition, scoring a century in Brabourne Stadium, Bombay in the Third Test. It was one of three centuries in the series. He finished with 371 runs at 60.81. The series also marked the last time that Borde bowled at international level. Borde followed up the successful New Zealand series with another great individual performance in the home series against

scoring two centuries as India lost the three Test series 2–0.

Honors: RoW XI selection and Test match captaincy

Borde was the only Indian representative in the ''Rest of the World XI'' squad that played against

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in March 1967. Borde captained the Indian team in the First Test against Australia at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in December 1967. The

Nawab of Pataudi The term Nawab of Pataudi refers to the lineage of rulers of the former princely Pataudi State in Northern India. Pataudi was established in 1804 by the British East India Company, when Faiz Talab Khan, an Afghan Muslim Pashtun of the Barech tri ...

resumed his position as captain in the next match.

Career twilight

Outside his sole Test as captain in Australia, Borde had disappointing performances on the tours to Australia, England and New Zealand scoring 468 runs at 24.67 in 11 Tests with only four half-centuries. Playing only as a specialist batsman, Borde was dropped as part of a youth selection policy, with his place taken by

Gundappa Viswanath Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath (born 12 February 1949) is a former Indian cricketer. Vishwanath was rated as one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. Viswanath played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances an ...

after the First Test against Australia at Brabourne Stadium.

Cricket administrator

Borde had two stints as the chairman of the national selection committee: * 1984 to 1986 * 1999 to 2002 Apart from his duties as chairman of the selection committee, Borde has handled other tasks for Indian cricket, including: * Manager, India's tour of Pakistan in 1989. * Pitch curator,

Nehru Stadium, Pune Nehru Stadium, formerly known as ''Club of Maharashtra Ground'', is a multi-purpose stadium in Pune, India. It is mainly used for cricket matches. The stadium was built in 1969 and holds a capacity of 25,000. The ground is home to Maharas ...

(1984–present). * Manager, India's tour of Ireland and England in 2007.

Records

* Borde scored 1,604 first-class runs in 1964–65 which was an Indian record for a season. The record was broken in 2016–17 by Cheteshwar Pujara.

Awards

Borde received several awards from Indian government and cricket establishment for his contribution to cricket: * 1966: Was awarded the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

making him the fourth cricketer to receive the award. * 1969: Was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

* 2002: Awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

– India's third highest civilian award. *2006: CK Nayudu Award for Lifetime achievement awarded by the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borde, Chandu 1934 births Living people Commonwealth XI cricketers Cricket managers Indian cricket administrators India Test cricket captains Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports Coaches of the Indian national cricket team India national cricket team selectors Indian cricketers India Test cricketers Maharashtra cricketers Mumbai cricketers Baroda cricketers Vazir Sultan Tobacco cricketers Indian Starlets cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers West Zone cricketers Indian cricket coaches Cricketers from Pune