Above: Patiala's Chail - The highest cricket grounds in the world. below - the Fathers of Cricket in India.
Sports
Indian Cricket: Raised & Nurtured in Patiala
by PARVESH SHARMA
Patiala, Punjab
Royalty is not Patiala's only claim to fame.
The city has a history of promoting cricket and
boasts of having one of India's oldest cricket grounds where many
enthusiastic players have practiced long hours before developing into
professional cricketers.
Many in the Patiala royal family played and supported cricket, contributing greatly to its gaining popularity in the country.
Maharaja Rajinder Singh, the seventh ruler of Patiala, used to play cricket in Baradari Garden with his younger brother, Raja Ranbir Singh. Rajinder then had a cricket pavilion and clock tower constructed in 1890 and some years later he also constructed the highest cricket field in the world at Chail (then in Punjab, now in Himachal Pardesh).
The royal family of Patiala also constituted the first governing body
of all-India cricket - the Cricket Club of India, and the Ranji Trophy,
which is most prominent domestic tournament in the country. They also
contributed in a big way to constructing the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the Southern Pavilion in Amritsar.
Historical records reveal that the Patiala royals also
provided professional coaching to their cricket team. A British coach,
J.T. Hearne, was specially hired by them around 1897 to train the team.
The love for cricket continued and another Patiala royal, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh took his team for the first unofficial tour to England in 1911. On his return he brought to India more trained English coaches.
"Bhupinder Singh was a great cricketer. The Brabourne Stadium at Bombay
was largely his creation and the Southern Pavilion at Amritsar was also
built by him. The cricket control board in India was founded by him and
he remained the President of Cricket Club of India throughout his life.
Bhupinder also instituted the Ranji Trophy tournament as a tribute to
prince Ranjit, which is the main tournament in India," said Mohinder
Partap Pandove, honorary treasure of BCCI and secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association.
History books record that after Bhupinder, another member of the royal family, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, became the captain of All India XI and won All India Cricket Colours Award for this outstanding performance. He made 36 centuries during his career and four double centuries.
[Courtesy: Times of India]
Febryary 22, 2011