K.S.RANJITSINHJI

Today is the death anniversary of  K.S. Ranjitsinhji , GCSI, GBE ( full name - H.H. Jam Saheb Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of Nawanaga r)  also known as Ranji , was a ruler of the Princely State of  Nawanagar .  He is also addressed as  Maharaj   Jamsaheb . He was educated  at Rajkumar College Rajkot and Trinity College , Cambridge .  He was a noted Test  Cricket and played  First Class Cricket . Introduced to the game of  Cricket  at the age of 10 or  11, while in School  , he was also the captain of School  Cricket team , though at that time he preferred  Tennis over Cricket . Later, while a student at the Cambridge University, he was exposed   to quality  Cricket. Between 1893 and  1920 he played County Cricket for  Cambridge University, London County  and  Sussex , alongside Test  Cricket for  the English Team. He ahd earned   reputation as a  batsman  of note      in  County Cricket. An obvious victim of racism , he was not included in the English Team for the  first match in the series against  Australia,  but was included  for the second Test  match .    A  right- handed batsman ,  he played his debut match  from the English side  against Australia in 1896 and scored 62 & 154*  runs   in the match.

In his career , he played  15  Test Matches and  scored  989 runs withan impressive average of  44.95.HE scored two centuries and 6 half centuries  , his highest score being 175. In First Class Cricket, he played  307 matches  and scored   24,692 runs with an average of  56.37. He scored  72 centuries and  109 hlf Centuries, his highest score being  285*. He was a right arm slow bowler and took  133 wickets  in First Class cricket.

Apart from this , he is most remembered as a batting style  called Leg Glance, invented by him after lot of  hard work  and practice. Most of his strokes were played on  back foot  over  which he had  attained mastery. He was also an author and wrote a book  titled  The Jubilee  Book Of Cricket.

He died this day in 1933 at Jamnagar. To  commemorate  his achievements as a great Cricketer  , Ranji Trophy  matches were  introduced by BCCI   in 1934 and  the  Trophy was   donated  by  Maharaja Bhupinder Singh  of Patiala  , who also inaugurated  it in 1935.

Our humble tributes to the legendary  Cricketer !