The Board of Control for Cricket in India mourned the death of former Indian football team captain and first-class cricketer Subimal Goswami who is popularly known as Chuni Goswami. He breathed his last at the age of 82 on Thursday at a Kolkata hospital.
Taking to its official Twitter handle, BCCI wrote, “BCCI mourns the death of Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami, an all-rounder in the truest sense. He captained the Indian national football team & led to them to gold in the 1962 Asian Games. He later played first-class cricket for Bengal & guided them to the final of Ranji Trophy in 1971-72.”
In a 10-year-long first-class career, Goswami had represented Bengal in 46 matches. After making his debut in the 1962-63 season, Goswami went on to lead the Bengal side to the final of the Ranji Trophy in the 1972-73 season. As a complete all-rounder – right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-pacer – the maestro had 1592 runs and 47 wickets under his name.
Moreover, it was football that made him the superstar he was. Goswami was the leader of the gold medal-winning team in the 1962 Asian Games and was also the skipper of the Indian team that made it to the final of the 1964 Asia Cup.
In a career spanning over 15 years, Goswami always played for Mohun Bagan, while representing India in 32 international fixtures and scoring nine goals. Unlike his club career, he had cut short his international career at an age of 27.