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Born: September 10, 1872, Sarodar, Kathiawar, India
Bowling style: April 2, 1933, Jamnagar Palace, India
Major teams: England, Cambridge University, London County, Sussex
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Achievements:: First Indian to play Test cricket (represented England)
Ranjitsinghji was born in Sarodar, a small village in the western Indian province of Kathiawar, into a wealthy Indian family of princely status. In 1888 he came to Britain to enroll at Trinity College, Cambridge and went on to gain a cricket "blue" in his final year. After graduating, Ranjitsinhji moved to play county cricket for Sussex and made his Test debut for England in 1896, thus becoming the first Indian to play Test cricket.
On his Test debut against Australia, Ranji scored 62 and 154 to become the second batsman after W. G. Grace to score a century on his debut for England. Ranji was a prolific batsman in county and Test cricket between 1895 and 1905, passing 1,000 runs in 10 successive domestic seasons (over 3,000 runs in 1899 and 1900) and captaining Sussex from 1899 to 1903.
He played 15 tests, all for England against old foes, Australia and scored 989 runs at an average of 44.95 with two hundreds and six fifties. Ranjit Singhji was the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1897.
True to his cricketing genius, Ranji is credited with introducing new dimensions to the art of batting. In a marked departure from the front-foot based style of his peers, Ranji played elegant strokes off the back foot and pioneered the shots of late cut and leg glance.
India's premier first-class cricket tournament, the Ranji Trophy, was named in honour of Sir Ranjitsinghji and inaugurated in 1935 by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
