The All-India Inter-University Cricket Championship held for the Rohinton Baria Gold Trophy (or simply, Rohinton Baria Trophy) is India's premier inter-university cricket tournament. It has been contested annually since the 1935/36 season.[ citation needed ]
The trophy was donated in 1935 by Ardeshir Dadabhoy Baria of Bombay in memory of his son Rohinton, for a tournament to be played between the Indian universities. Initially, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised the tournament, but the Inter-University Sports Board of India (IUSB) took over in 1940/41. [1]
The university teams compete in zones before the winners and runners-up from each zone play off in semi-finals and finals. Until 1989/90, when the format was changed to a one-day 50-over contest, the finals were usually held over three or four days at the campus of one of the finalists or at a neutral venue. Sometimes matches were played to a finish regardless of time; the 1956-57 match went on for eight days and finished when Bombay University, having set Delhi University 728 to win, dismissed them for 611 in 304.1 overs. [2] [3]
Apart from Indian universities, Ceylon University also participated from 1947/48 to 1969/70. [4] The only university from the future Pakistan to compete before Partition was the University of the Punjab in Lahore, which won the title four times.
In its early decades participation in the tournament helped prepare many future Test and first-class players, especially in the larger universities. [5] In their team that won the 1940/41 final, Bombay University had four future Indian Test players (Ranga Sohoni, Hemu Adhikari, Chandra Sarwate and Sadu Shinde), [6] while in their 1958/59 champion team they had five future Test players (Arvind Apte, Dilip Sardesai, Ajit Wadekar – who scored 324 in the final – Farokh Engineer and Ramakant Desai). [7] In their 1945-46 team Punjab University included seven players (Nazar Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Maqsood Ahmed, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Khan Mohammad and Shujauddin Butt) who later played a prominent part in Pakistan's Test successes in the 1950s. [8] In the 1966–67 final Sunil Gavaskar played for Bombay University, in 1972-73 Mohinder Amarnath led Delhi University to victory, and Sanjay Manjrekar's six consecutive centuries for Bombay University propelled him into Bombay's Ranji Trophy team. [9]
According to the writer and former Rohinton Baria Trophy and Ranji Trophy player Venkatraman Ramnarayan, the Rohinton Baria provided a valuable "finishing school" for future leaders, and a model of dignified behaviour on the sports field which is now lacking. [10] With the rise of widespread junior competitions and coaching for young players, interest in inter-university cricket has waned in recent decades. [11] According to Harsha Bhogle, who played for Osmania University, the growth of under-19 cricket destroyed university cricket. [9]
 |
Notes:-
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in India. It is played almost everywhere in the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the governing body of Indian cricket and conduct all domestic tournaments and select the players for India national cricket team and India women's national cricket team.
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is the former head coach of the India national cricket team and a cricket commentator. As a player, he played for the India national cricket team between 1981 and 1992 in both Test matches and One Day Internationals. Although he started his career as a left arm spin bowler, he later transformed into a batting all-rounder. Shastri was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
Dilip Narayan Sardesai was an Indian international cricketer. He played Tests for the Indian national team as a batsman, the first Goa-born cricketer to play for India, and was often regarded as one of India's best batsmen against spin, although Indian batsmen have been known to play better against spin.
Sandeep Patil is an Indian former cricketer, India national age-group cricket manager and former Kenya national team coach, who guided the underdogs to the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman and an occasional medium pace bowler. Patil was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was the coach of Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League, but returned to the mainstream when he cut ties with the unofficial league in 2009. He has been appointed as the director of National Cricket Academy (NCA) by the BCCI, replacing Dav Whatmore. He was appointed as the new chief of the BCCI Selection Committee on 27 September 2012.
Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer. He played international cricket for India from 1987 until 1996 as a right-handed middle order batsman.
Prakash Bhandari is a former Indian Test cricketer.
Chetan Pratap Singh Chauhan was a cricketer who played 40 Test matches for India. He played Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra and Delhi. He played most of his international cricket in the late 1970s and was the regular opening partner of Sunil Gavaskar during that period. Chetan Chauhan was appointed Chairman of NIFT from June 2016 to June 2017. He was also twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, in 1991 and 1998. From 2018 to 2020, he was minister for youth and sports in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ashok Mulvantrai Mankad was an Indian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he played for India in 22 Test matches.
Rajinder Pal was an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1964. He played first-class cricket in India from 1954 to 1973.
Association of Indian Universities (AIU) is an organisation and association of universities in India including central, state, institutes of National Importance and Deemed Universities. It is based in Delhi. It evaluates the courses, syllabi, standards, and credits of foreign Universities pursued abroad and equates them in relation to various courses offered by Indian Universities.
Punjab University cricket team, representing the University of the Punjab in Lahore, played first-class cricket in Pakistan from 1947-48 to 1971-72.
Sadanand Namdeo Mohol was an Indian medium-fast bowler who played first-class cricket in India from 1960 to 1971. He toured England with the Indian team in 1967, but did not play Test cricket.
N. Kannayiram was a cricketer who played first-class cricket in India between 1948 and 1956. He toured the West Indies in 1952–53, but did not play Test cricket.
The 1988–89 Ranji Trophy was the 55th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament that took place in India between October 1988 and March 1989. Delhi defeated Bengal by an innings and 210 runs in the final.
Rajkumar Shri Chatrapalsinhji, later known as R.K. Chatrapalsinh Jadeja, a member of the Jamnagar royal family, played first-class cricket in India from 1957 to 1971.
Waheed Yar Khan is a former Pakistani cricketer who played first-class cricket in India from 1960 to 1968, and in Pakistan from 1969 to 1975.
Malhotra Chamanlal, also known as Chaman Lal Malhotra or just Chamanlal was an Indian cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1952 to 1970. In a minor match in Patiala in 1956-57 he made 502 not out.
Malik Ahmed Khan, known as Ahmed Khan, was a Pakistani cricket player and umpire. His first-class playing career spanned from 1932 to 1950, with all but one match coming prior to the partition of India in 1947. He made his first-class umpiring debut in 1953, and continued until 1973, having officiated in various Pakistani domestic competitions.
Chanila Krishna Bhat Nandan is a cricket umpire and former player. His playing career included three first-class matches for Karnataka, over a period from 1983 to 1988. He made his umpiring debut in 1999, and has since umpired in various Indian domestic competitions, including Ranji Trophy and Indian Premier League matches.
Devraj Puri was an Indian cricketer and commentator. He played first-class cricket for several teams including Bengal and Delhi. He played one unofficial Test match for India against the Australians in 1935-36. After his playing career, he became a cricket commentator. In contemporary reports, his name often appears as Dev Raj Puri or D. R. Puri.
