Ajay Ratra is a former Indian cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He represented the India national cricket team in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches in the early 2000s, and had an extensive first-class career in domestic cricket, primarily for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy.
| Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ajay Ratra |
| Born | 28 December 1981, Faridabad, Haryana, India |
| Role | Wicketkeeper-batsman |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Domestic team | Haryana |
| National team | India |
| Formats played | Test, ODI, First-class, List A |
Background
Born in Faridabad, Haryana, Ratra developed his cricket through the Haryana state age-group system. He came into national prominence after being part of the Indian squad that won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2000 in Sri Lanka, a team led by Mohammad Kaif and which also featured Yuvraj Singh and Reetinder Sodhi.
International career
Ratra made his Test debut for India during the 2001–02 series against England. He went on to tour the West Indies in 2002, where he produced his most notable international performance: an unbeaten century at the Bourda ground in Georgetown, Guyana. With this knock, he became, at the time, the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test century, and only the second Indian wicketkeeper after Budhi Kunderan and Farokh Engineer's generation to score a Test hundred overseas in such circumstances.
His ODI career was relatively short, and he was eventually displaced from the national side following the rise of Parthiv Patel and, subsequently, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who established himself as India's first-choice wicketkeeper from 2004 onwards.
Domestic career
Ratra had a long association with Haryana in the Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). As a wicketkeeper he was regarded for his neat glovework, particularly to spin bowling, and contributed useful runs in the lower middle order. He also appeared in the Duleep Trophy and other zonal competitions for North Zone.
After playing career
Following his retirement from competitive cricket, Ratra moved into coaching. He has worked with state-level teams in India and has been associated with cricket academies, focusing in particular on the development of young wicketkeepers.
Significance
Ajay Ratra is remembered as part of the transitional phase of Indian wicketkeeping in the early 2000s, when the team experimented with several glovesmen before settling on a long-term option. His Test century in the West Indies remains a landmark in Indian wicketkeeping history.
Related topics
- India national cricket team
- Haryana cricket team
- Ranji Trophy
- 2000 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup
- Wicket-keeper
- Board of Control for Cricket in India
References
- Wikidata entity: Q3528551