Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar, (present day Jamnagar) from 1907 to 1933. The main part of his cricket career was from 1893 to 1904 when, as one of the greatest batsmen of his time, he played for Cambridge University, Sussex, London County and, in 15 Test matches, for England.
Ranjitsinhji was an unorthodox batsman whose fast reactions and individual style were to revolutionise the game. Previously, batsmen had generally played forward and made shots to the off side; Ranjitsinhji took advantage of the improving quality of pitches in his era and played more on the back foot, both in defence and attack. He is particularly associated with one shot, the leg glance, which he popularised and may have invented.
He has been called the "Father of Indian Cricket", as he was the earliest top-class Indian cricketer, but he has been criticised for his refusal to aid and encourage the development of cricket in India itself. The annual first-class championship of India, the Ranji Trophy, was named in his honour by Bhupinder Singh of Patiala who inaugurated the competition in 1935. Ranjitsinhji's nephew Duleepsinhji followed his path as a batsman playing first-class cricket for Cambridge, Sussex, and England.
Early life Birth Ranjitsinhji Jadeja was born on 10 September 1872 in Sadodar, a village in the state of Nawanagar in the western Indian province of Kathiawar in a Hindu Jadeja Rajput family.
He was the first son of a farmer, Jiwansinhji, and one of his wives. His name meant "the lion who conquers in battle", although he frequently suffered ill health as a child. Ranjitsinhji's family were related to the ruling family of the state of Nawanagar through his grandfather, and head of his family, Jhalamsinhji. The latter was a cousin of Vibhaji, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar; Ranjitsinhji's biographers later claimed that Jhalamsinhji had shown bravery fighting for Vibhaji in a successful battle, but Simon Wilde suggests that this may be an invention encouraged by Ranjitsinhji. For the remainder of his life, Ranjitsinhji was sensitive about his family and deliberately presented a positive image of his parents.
Heir to the throne In 1856, Vibhaji's son, Kalubha, was born, becoming heir to Vibhaji's throne. However, as Kalubha grew, he established a reputation for violence and terror. Among his actions were an attempt to poison his father and a multiple rape. Consequently, Vibhaji disinherited his son in 1877 and, having no other suitable heir, followed custom by adopting an heir from another branch of his family, that of Jhalamsinhji. The first selected heir died within six months of being adopted, either through fever or poisoning on the orders of Kalubha's mother. The second choice, in October 1878, was Ranjitsinhji. Vibhaji took him to Rajkot to secure the approval of the ruling British and the young boy lived there for the next 18 months before joining the Rajkumar College, supported through this time by an allowance from Vibhaji. Being discouraged by the ambition of Ranjitsinhji's family and the conduct of Jiwansinhji, Vibhaji never completed the adoption of Ranjitsinhji and continued trying to produce his own heir. The prospect of Ranjitsinhji's accession seemed to vanish in August 1882 when one of the women of Vibhaji's court gave birth to a son, Jaswantsinhji.
Ranjitisinhji's later version of events, reported by his biographer Roland Wild, was that his adoption had been carried out in secret, for fear of Vibhaji's wives. According to Wild, "The boy's father and grandfather watched the ceremony which was officially recorded by the India Office, the Government of India, and the Bombay Government." However, there is no record of any such event, which Simon Wilde says, "suggests, fairly conclusively, it never happened." Roland Wild and Charles Kincaid, who wrote a book in 1931 which also put forward Ranjitsinhji's perspective, also said that Jaswantsinhji was not a legitimate heir, either through not being Vibhaji's son or through his mother not being legally married to Vibhaji. However, the claims are either demonstrably wrong or not corroborated by the records. The British authorities, unhappy to discover Ranjitsinhji was never adopted and impressed by his potential at the college, initially tried to persuade Vibhaji to retain Ranjitsinhji as his heir but the Jam Sahib insisted Jaswantsinhji should succeed him. In October 1884, the Government of India recognised Jaswantsinhji as Vibhaji's heir, but the Viceroy, Lord Ripon, believed that Ranjitsinhji should be compensated for losing his position.
Education Even though Ranjitsinhji was no longer heir, Vibhaji increased his financial allowance but passed the responsibility for his education to the Bombay Presidency. With his fees coming from the allowance, Ranjitsinhji continued his education at the Rajkumar College. Although his material position remained unchanged, comments made at the time by the principal of the college, Chester Macnaghten, suggest that Ranjitsinhji was bitterly disappointed by his disinheritance. The college was organised and run like an English public school, and Ranjitsinhji began to excel.
Ranjitsinhji was introduced to cricket aged 10 or 11, and first represented the school in 1883. He was appointed captain in 1884 and maintained this position until 1888. While he may have scored centuries for the school, the cricket was low standard, and very different from that played in England. Ranjitsinhji did not take it particularly seriously and preferred tennis at the time. No one was certain what would become of him once he left the college, but his academic prowess presented the solution of moving to England to study at Cambridge University.
Cambridge University Academic progress In March 1888, Macnaghten took Ranjitsinhji to London, with two other students who exhibited potential. One of the events to which Macnaghten took Ranjitsinhji was a cricket match between Surrey County Cricket Club and the touring Australian team. Ranjitsinhji was enthralled by the standard of cricket, and Charles Turner, an Australian known more as a bowler, scored a century in front of a large crowd; Ranjitsinhji later said he did not see a better innings for ten years. Macnaghten returned to India that September but arranged for Ranjitsinhji and one of the other students, Ramsinhji, to live in Cambridge. Their second choice of lodgings proved successful, living with the family of Reverend Louis Borrisow, at the time the chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge, who tutored them for the next year. Ranjitsinhji lived with the Borrisows until 1892 and remained close to them throughout his life. According to Roland Wild, Borrisow believed Ranjitsinhji was "lazy and irresponsible" and obsessed with leisure activities including cricket, tennis, billiards and photography. Wild also says that he might have struggled to acclimatise to English life and did not settle to academic study. Possibly as a consequence, Ranjitsinhji failed the preliminary entrance exam to Trinity College in 1889, but he and Ramsinhji were allowed to enter the college as "youths of position". Nevertheless, Ranjitsinhji concentrated more on sport than study while at Cambridge, being content to work no more than necessary and he never graduated. A Freemason, he was also a member of Isaac Newton University Lodge.
During the summer of 1890, Ranjitsinhji and Ramsinhji took a holiday in Bournemouth. For the trip, Ranjitsinhji adopted the name "K. S. [Kumar Sri] Ranjitsinhji". While in Bournemouth, he took more interest in cricket, achieving success in local matches which suggested he possessed talent, but little refinement of technique. According to Wild, by the time he returned to Trinity in September 1890, he was beginning to realise the benefit of others believing him to be a person of importance, something that was to lead to him adopting the title "Prince Ranjitsinhji", although he had no right to call himself a "Prince". Significantly, the trip planted the seed in his mind that he might find success as a cricketer.
In June 1892, Ranjitsinhji left the Borrisow home and, with monetary assistance from relations, moved into his own rooms in the city of Cambridge. He lived in luxury and frequently entertained guests lavishly. According to writer Alan Ross, Ranjitsinhji may have been lonely in his first years at Cambridge and probably encountered racism and prejudice. Ross believes that his generosity may have partly arisen from trying to overcome these barriers. However, Ranjitsinhji increasingly lived beyond his means to the point where he experienced financial difficulty. He intended to pass the examinations to be called to the Bar and wrote to ask Vibhaji to provide more money to cover the costs; Vibhaji sent the money on the condition Ranjitsinhji returned to India once he passed the examination. Ranjitsinhji intended to keep to this arrangement, although he did not plan a career as a barrister, but his debts were larger than he had thought and not only could he not afford the cost of the Bar examination, he was forced to leave Cambridge University, without graduating, in spring 1894.
Beginnings as a cricketer At first, Ranjitsinhji had hoped to be awarded a Blue at tennis, but, possibly inspired by his visit to see the Australians play in 1888, he decided to concentrate on cricket. In 1889 and 1890, he played local cricket of a low standard, but following his stay in Bournemouth, he set out to improve his cricket. In June 1891 he joined the recently re-formed Cambridgeshire County Cricket Club and was successful enough in trial matches to represent the county in several games that September. His highest score was just 23 not out, but he was selected for a South of England team to play a local side—which had 19 players to make the match more competitive—and his score of 34 was the highest in the game. However, Ranjitsinhji had neither the strength nor the range of batting strokes to succeed at this stage.
Around this time, Ranjitsinhji began to work with Daniel Hayward, a first-class cricketer and the father of future England batsman Thomas Hayward, on his batting technique. His main fault was a tendency to back away from the ball when facing a fast bowler, making it more likely he would be dismissed. Possibly prompted by the suggestion of a professional cricketer who was bowling at him in the nets at Cambridge, he and Hayward began to practise with Ranjitsinhji's right leg tied to the ground. This affected his future batting technique and contributed to his adoption of the leg glance, a shot with which he afterwards became associated. While practising, he continued to move his left leg, which was not tied, away from the ball; in this case, it moved to his right, towards point. He found he could then flick the ball behind his legs, a highly unorthodox shot and likely, for most players, to result in their dismissal. Although other players had probably played this shot before, Ranjitsinhji was able to play it with unprecedented effectiveness. Ranjitsinhji probably developed his leg glance with Hayward around spring 1892, for during the remainder of that year, he scored around 2,000 runs in all cricket, far more than he had previously managed, making at least nine centuries, a feat he had never previously achieved in England.