Calcutta: For Gopal Bose, it was something truly special and a humbling experience on receiving the Lifetime Achievement award from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Saturday.
The CAB president Sourav Ganguly presented the former India and Bengal cricketer with a blazer, a citation and a cheque of Rs two lakh to Bose at the association's annual awards function.
"I am honoured and feel humbled with such an honour. This day will forever remain special to me. I would like to thank the CAB," Bose said.
Bose represented India in an ODI against England at the Oval in July 1974. He had also scored a century in an unofficial Test against the then Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the 1973-74 season. In first-class cricket, he made 3757 runs from 78 matches and also took 72 wickets.
Bose has no regrets and said he's happy with whatever he had achieved. "Notu Koley, Deepak Kumar Ghosh, Pintu Mitra and Prodyut Mitra helped me a lot. I am ever thankful to them.
"I have no regrets... Am happy with whatever I have achieved," he said.
Former India cricketer Arun Lal, chief guest of the function, had some motivational words for budding cricketers. "Charles Paddock was the American athlete who won gold in 100 metres at Antwerp Olympics (1920). He was just five feet seven-and-a-half inches.
"People asked him not to run in 100 metres, but he practised hard and reached his goal. Then he just said, 'If you think you can, you can'. If someone has that will power, he or she will definitely taste success," Lal said.
Asked whether the Supreme Court verdict was good for cricket or not, Lal replied: "It's too early to say whether it is good or not. But the Supreme Court's verdict on Lodha recommendations is phenomenal and the way forward."
Meanwhile, Sourav thanked everybody for their support for the association. "We are like a family. Everybody tried to play their part... We will try to function better in coming years," he said.
The best cricketer of the year award went to Sudip Chatterjee, while Ashok Dinda was adjudged best fast bowler. Sudip, though, couldn't be present on the occasion as he and some of his Bengal teammates are busy with a KSCA tournament in Mysore.
