Wisden overview
The legendary Ranji came from ancient Rajput stock, and brought Eastern magic to the cricket fields of England, America and Australia. Individual and distinctive in style, he possessed exceptionally keen eyesight besides flexibility and power of wrist, and he could glance the good-length ball off the middle stump to leg in a way that no-one else has equalled. His cutting and driving, too, were superb, models of feline grace. He was a useful change bowler and a safe catcher in the slips, despite suffering from hay fever throughout his career. He was a Cambridge Blue (where he earned the nickname "Smith"), and he made 77 and 150 on his debut for Sussex against MCC at Lord's. On his Test debut against Australia, at Old Trafford in 1896, he scored 62 and 154 not out, rescuing England from two shaky starts. He passed 1000 runs in all 12 of his completed seasons, including AE Stoddart's 1897-98 tour of Australia, where he averaged 50.77 in the Tests. At Sussex, who he captained for five seasons, he always seemed to be engaged in a stand with CB Fry. The pair later served together on the League of Nations. Ranji played his last match for Sussex in 1920, but by then he had lost an eye in a shooting accident, was overweight and no longer a force. KS Duleepsinhji, who also played for England, was his nephew. Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Adapted by Wisden from World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary (Oxford, 1996).

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