Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship in India played by teams representing different states and regions. Organised by the board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Ranji Trophy is undisputedly the most important tournament in India's domestic cricket season. It is considered the "cradle of Indian Test cricket", as the finest talents from its matches are selected for the Indian test cricket team. The tournament, which was launched in 1934, is named after Ranjitsinhji alias Ranji (1872 - 1933), an Indian prince who played test cricket for England and who is regarded as one of the finest players of all time.
Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, to give his full name and official title, was born in Kathiawar in British India. As a child, he was chosen as heir to a distant relative, Vibhaji, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar. He studied at the Rajkumar college in Rajkot and went on to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he gained a place in the Cambridge University cricket team, becoming the first Indian to win a cricket Blue. In 1895, he began playing for Sussex. In 1896, he made his test debut for England against Australia. In a test career spanning 15 matches, Ranjitsinhji scored 989 runs including 2 centuries and 6 half-centuries, with an average of 44.95 runs and a high score of 175 runs. He also played 307 first-class matches, scoring 24,692 runs that included 72 centuries and 109 half-centuries, with a high score of 285 not out In 1907, he became the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar. In his political role, he was Chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes and represented India at the League of Nations. He died in 1933. The following year, when the BCCI decided to start a domestic tournament, the Maharaja of Patiala offered to donate the trophy which he proposed should be named in honour of Ranjitsinhji. The first Ranji Trophy winner was Bombay, who defeated North India in the final.
Although Ranjitsinhji never played for India and and considered himself an English cricketer, he was remembered as the first famous cricketer of Indian origin.
