TheAll-India Inter-University Cricket Championship held for theRohinton Baria Gold Trophy (or simply,Rohinton Baria Trophy) isIndia's premier inter-universitycricket tournament. It has been contested annually since the 1935/36 season.[citation needed]
The trophy was donated in 1935 byArdeshir Dadabhoy Baria ofBombay in memory of his son Rohinton, for a tournament to be played between the Indian universities. Initially, theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised the tournament, but theInter-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 whenBombay University, having setDelhi 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 futurePakistan to compete beforePartition was theUniversity of the Punjab inLahore, which won the title four times.
In its early decades participation in the tournament helped prepare many futureTest andfirst-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 andSadu 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 andRamakant 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 andShujauddin Butt) who later played a prominent part in Pakistan's Test successes in the 1950s.[8] In the 1966–67 finalSunil Gavaskar played for Bombay University, in 1972-73Mohinder Amarnath led Delhi University to victory, andSanjay Manjrekar's six consecutivecenturies for Bombay University propelled him intoBombay'sRanji Trophy team.[9]
According to the writer and former Rohinton Baria Trophy andRanji Trophy playerVenkatraman 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 toHarsha Bhogle, who played forOsmania University, the growth of under-19 cricket destroyed university cricket.[9]
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