First Class Cricket is the way to greatness. Every successful international cricketer first needs to show their worth in First Class cricket to earn the trust of national selectors. In India, the structure of domestic cricket allows equitable opportunities for every cricketer based on merit. Baroda has been a regular side in First Class Cricket in India. Here are the top 3 batters with the most runs for Baroda in First Class Cricket.
3. Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan, an offs pinner who excels in shorter formats and a hard-hitting batsman, was originally selected for the Baroda Under-16 team in the Vijay Merchant Trophy in 1999–2000. He soon ascended the ranks to the Baroda U19 and the West Zone U-19 sides because of his great performances. He made his Rajni Trophy debut for Baroda in 2001–02 against Saurashtra, but it wasn’t until the 2004–05 season, that he became a regular in the Baroda lineup. With 4094 runs for Baroda, he is their third-highest scorer in First Class games.
Kedar Devdhar, who retired from the game in 2022 amassed 4128 runs for Baroda in First Class games becoming their second-highest scorer in First Class Cricket. He beats Yusuf Pathan in this list by a mere 34 runs. He played 70 First Class games for the team while batting 118 times in them. He scored 10 hundred and 18 half-centuries while batting at a decent average of 38.57 and recorded a brilliant highest score of 224 for Baroda. He is definitely one of the most consistent batters for Baroda and one year into his retirement, he is surely being missed.
Connor Williams, a small-framed left-handed opener in the style of Graham Thorpe, has long been a bulwark for the Baroda Ranji Trophy side. Williams is more of a labourer than a flashy stroke maker and lacks the typical southpaw blade swing. Even though the selectors have frequently mentioned him when searching for openers, the 28-year-old’s career took off after his performance in the 2001 Irani Trophy. He was selected for the final fourteen for the Test series against England right after and was a part of the travelling team for South Africa in the same year. However, he then retreated into obscurity on the domestic circuit, but he is still one of Baroda’s key batsmen today.