Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji

Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji

Personal information
Full name	Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji
Born	13 June 1905(1905-06-13) Kathiawar, British India
Died	5 December 1959(1959-12-05) (aged 54) Bombay, India
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm leg break
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 238)	15 June 1929 v South Africa
Last Test	18 August 1931 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1924–1931	Sussex
1925–1928	Cambridge University
1928–1929	Hindus
Career statistics
Competition	Test	First-class
Matches	12	205
Runs scored	995	15,485
Batting average	58.52	49.95
100s/50s	3/5	50/64
Top score	173	333
Balls bowled	6	1,835
Wickets	0	28
Bowling average	–	48.03
5 wickets in innings	–	0
10 wickets in match	–	0
Best bowling	–	4/49
Catches/stumpings	10/–	256/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 October 2009

Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji Jadeja (June 13, 1905 - December 5, 1959) was a cricketer who played for England. He was educated at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, India.

Career

He was born in Kathiawar (present day Gujarat state), one of the Princely States, in India. While he was still playing school cricket, the future President of the MCC, HS Altham, wrote of him in Wisden: "In natural gifts of eye, wrist and footwork he is certainly blest far above the ordinary measure... there is no doubt about the judgment and certainty with which he takes toll of straight balls of anything but the most immaculate length. His late cutting is quite beautiful and there is a certain ease and maturity about all his batting methods that stamps him as of a different class from the ordinary school batsman." Duleepsinhji went on to achieve great success as a batsman for Cambridge University, Sussex and eventually England in a career cut short by recurrent illness. His Test average of 58.5 ranks him among the best batsmen to have played Test cricket.

Following his playing career, and based on his experience as High Commissioner of India in Australia and New Zealand, Duleepsinhji was made Chairman of the Public Service Commission in the State of Saurashtra after his return to India. As Maharaja of Navanagar (Jamnagar) he took lot of interest in the well being of his subjects and the State governing.

The photo shows one of Duleepsinhji's routine visits to a village near Junagadh in Saurashtra State to see the condition of living of the local people. He is being given the traditional welcome by the villagers by drum beating and pipe music.

Duleepsinhji also visited the first and the only public utility Thermal Power Station in the State, at that time located at Shapur Sorath, near a village Vanthly (near Junagadh). As this power station was using crushed coal as fuel for boilers and chlorination for the cooling water system, which normally polluted the local atmosphere, he wanted to see personally the working conditions and the amenities provided for the villagers housing and the recreation facilities.

Duleepsinhji died on December 5 1959 in Bombay (now Mumbai). The Duleep Trophy is named in his honour. His uncle Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, after whom the Ranji Trophy is named, also played cricket for England.

External links

• Player profile: Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji from ESPNcricinfo
• Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji: Cricketer of the Year 1930: By Wisden Almanack archive

Sporting positions
Preceded by Harold Gilligan	Sussex county cricket captain 1931–1932	Succeeded by R. S. G. Scott

Persondata
Name	Deleepsinhji, Kumar Shri
Alternative names
Short description	Cricketer
Date of birth	1905-06-13
Place of birth	Kathiawar, India
Date of death	1959-12-05
Place of death	Bombay, India