417 FC wickets, just 3 Tests: The forgotten story of Subhash Gupte’s brother Baloo

Baloo Gupte, born on August 30, 1934, was a leg-spin bowler from a cricketing family. While his elder brother Subhash went on to become a legendary spinner, Baloo spent most of his cricketing career in his brother's shadow. Baloo was an orthodox leg-spinner and googly bowler who took over 400 first-class wickets in Indian domestic cricket. However, his international career was limited to just three Tests, where he took just three wickets.

Subhash, who was five years older than Baloo, had already established himself as India's premier leg-spinner when Baloo made his Test debut. Despite the irony of this situation, Baloo's opportunity came against Pakistan at Madras during the 1960-61 series, following Subhash's drop. However, Baloo faced a difficult start to his Test career, conceding 116 runs in 35 overs.

He was later recalled three years later for the home series against England but failed to make an impact again. Baloo's final Test came against New Zealand at Calcutta the following season, where he also struggled to take wickets.

Baloo's international career came to an end after three Tests, with a remarkably modest return of one wicket per Test. However, his contributions to domestic cricket were substantial. Representing Bombay, Bengal, and Railways, Baloo became one of India's leading wicket-takers, finishing his first-class career with 417 wickets and 255 Ranji Trophy wickets at an impressive average of 23.47.

His greatest domestic performance came in the 1962-63 Duleep Trophy final, where he took 9 for 55, setting a record that stood for almost 40 years until broken by Debashish Mohanty in 2001.