Vivek Razdan: This cricketer made his debut with Sachin, was out of the team after just 3 matches, then created a ruckus in commentary

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi on 15 November 1989. At that time Sachin was 16 years and 205 days old. Sachin Tendulkar’s journey through the Karachi Test left an indelible mark on world cricket. After Karachi, when the Indian team reached Faisalabad, Sachin scored the first half-century of his career. 20-year-old Vivek Rajdan also made his Test debut for India in Faisalabad, who is celebrating his 55th birthday today (25 August). Rajdan is a well-known name in the world of commentary.

Right-arm fast bowler Vivek Rajdan could not take any wicket in his debut Test match. In a way, he started his Test career in almost anonymity in Faisalabad. However, Rajdan wreaked havoc in the next Test match against Pakistan in Sialkot, where he took five wickets for 79 runs in the first innings. The sad thing is that Rajdan got only this many opportunities in Test matches, that is, he could play only two matches in this format.

… International career ended in just 21 years

Vivek Rajdan also made his ODI debut on that Pakistan tour. Apart from Rajdan, Sachin Tendulkar and Salil Ankola also made their ODI debut in the match played in Gujranwala on 18 December 1989. However, Rajdan’s luck did not favor him in ODIs as well and he could play only three matches for India in this format as well. Rajdan played his last ODI match against Sri Lanka on 1 December 1990.

After that he did not get a chance in either ODI or Test. That means Vivek Rajdan’s international career ended at the age of 21. Rajdan learned the basics of cricket at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. Rajdan was selected for the Pakistan tour on the basis of just two first class matches. While he did not get many opportunities at the international level, he did not play many matches in domestic cricket either.

… when he did an all-round performance for Delhi

By the way, he played an important role in helping Delhi win the trophy in the 1991-92 Ranji season. In that season, he scored centuries first against Services and then against Bengal in the quarter-finals. Apart from this, Rajdan also played an important innings of 93 runs in the final against his old team Tamil Nadu. Apart from the bat, he also performed brilliantly with the ball and took 23 wickets at an average of 25.82. However, he soon went into oblivion in domestic cricket as well and after two seasons, his first-class career ended completely.

Vivar Rajdan took 5 wickets in 2 Test matches and 1 wicket in 3 ODIs for India. Talking about first class cricket, he scored 700 runs in 29 matches and also took 67 wickets. Rajdan also played 18 List-A matches, in which he took 14 wickets and scored 103 runs. Rajdan then made television commentary his career.

‘Gaba’s pride is broken…’

Who can forget his commentary in the Gabba Test match against Australia in January 2021. In that match, when Rishabh Pant gave India victory with a four on Josh Hailwood’s ball, Vivek Rajdan was heard saying, ‘Has Gabba’s pride been broken… Border-Gavaskar Trophy will go to Gavaskar’s country…’ Let us tell you that after 32 years, Australia lost the Test match on that ground. In such a situation, that victory of Team India and Rajdan’s commentary got recorded in the pages of history.