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Ranjitsinhji
रंजितसिंहजी
The prince who taught the world to play cricket
Years
1872 – 1933
Known as
K.S. Ranjitsinhji — the 'Ranji' of the Ranji Trophy
Birthplace
Sarabka, Saurashtra, Gujarat
Field
Sporting Legends
“Cricket is a game of grace — and I play it as I live: with joy.”
— Ranjitsinhji
The Story
Born into the royal family of Nawanagar, Saurashtra, Ranjitsinhji went to England to study at Cambridge — and there the world discovered his genius. In 1896, playing for Sussex, he became the first person of Bhārat in English county cricket, and in 1896–97 he scored over 3,000 runs in a season, the first man ever to do so.
In 1896 he became the first person of Bhārat to play Test cricket, for England — for in his era, Bhārat had no Test team. His batting was pure artistry: the late cut and the leg-glance, strokes no one had ever seen, played with a grace that the great critics called magical. In 1899-1900 he scored 3,000 runs in the season again, and he was voted one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year.
He returned to Bhārat, ruled his state of Nawanagar as Jam Sahib, and served in the First World War. When cricket needed its own championship of Bhārat in 1934 — the year after his death — the trophy was named the Ranji Trophy in his honour, and his name has crowned every cricketer's ambition ever since.
Core Ideas
The First Test Player of Bhārat
The first person of Bhārat in Test cricket — in 1896.
The 3,000-Run Season
The first batsman ever to score 3,000 in a season.
The Leg-Glance
His strokes revolutionised the game.
The Ranji Trophy
Bhārat's championship bears his name.
The Prince
He ruled Nawanagar as Jam Sahib.
Why it matters today
Ranji's name is the highest prize in cricket of Bhārat — the Ranji Trophy that every state team dreams of lifting. He is remembered as the player who proved that a person of Bhārat could be the greatest batsman in the world, a century before the modern era of cricket of Bhārat.