Cricket and Mahatma Gandhi

On Gandhi's death anniversary, Arghya Ganguly explores the little-known link between cricket and the Mahatma in the Times of India Crest.

The Rajkumar College at Rajkot in 1880 was a training pitch for Indian princelings. Hailing from a humble background, KS Ranjit Singhji was sent to the college as an eight-year-old boy, by his wealthy adopted family. But much to their dismay, he turned out to be a backbencher, scoring more on the field than in the classroom. Ranji showed aptitude for both tennis and cricket but went on to take the latter more seriously. One of his fellow students was Gandhi.

When Gandhi first went to England as a student, "one of the three letters of introduction that he carried was to Ranji" . Cricket commentator Scyld Berry has remarked that the "eventual prince originated from a humbler background than the Mahatma, subsequent champion of the people" and that "both the prince and the self-made pauper were schooled in the sporting ethos of Rajkot and both probably went out to the world with ideas of British sportsmanship which they had internalized in College".