Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, who passed away on 2 April 1933, Jamnagar,
aged 60, was one of the world’s greatest cricket players and, later, a ruler of
his native state in India.
After attending
Trinity College, Cambridge (1890–93), he played for the Sussex cricket team in
first-class county competition (1895–97, 1899–1904, 1908, 1912) and served as
team captain (1899–1903). An unorthodox but graceful batsman, he scored the
high total of 3,000 runs in 1899 and again in 1900. In 15
England-versus-Australia test matches, he scored 985 runs.
As maharaja of
Nawanagar from March 1907, he was a progressive ruler and statesman and set an
example by the simplicity of his personal life. He modernized his capital
of Jamnagar, developed the seaport of Nawanagar, and built roads,
railways, and irrigation facilities. During World War I he was a British
army staff officer in France, attaining the rank of colonel. In 1920 he
represented the Indian states at the League of Nations Assembly, Geneva, and in
1932 he became chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes. He was knighted in
1917, 1919, and 1923.
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