Rajkumar

Shri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

Sukhdevsinhji Rajendrasinhji

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communi ...

(born 6 June 1936), known professionally as R. K. Sukhdevsinhji, is an Indian businessman and former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. Sukhdevsinhji played a single first-class match for

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

during the 1953–54 season, aged 17. His father, General Rajendrasinhji, was descended from the ruling family of

Nawanagar State Nawanagar was an Indian princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became the part of newly formed India. The city is now known as Jamnagar. ...

, and many other members of his family played cricket at high levels. Sukhdevsinhji later studied economics at

St. Stephen's College, Delhi St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...

, and has held a variety of positions with companies in India's oil and gas sector, most notably as chairman of

Bharat Petroleum Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It operates three refineries in Bina, Kochi and Mumbai. BPCL is In ...

Early life and family

SukhdSukhdevsinhji's father, General Rajendrasinhji, was a high-ranking officer in the post-independence

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, and was both the last Commander-in-Chief and the first Chief of the Army Staff. Descended from the

Jam Sahib Jam Sahib ( gu, જામ સાહેબ), is the title of the ruling prince of Nawanagar, now known as Jamnagar in Gujarat, an Indian princely state. Jam Sahibs of Nawanagar References External links Nawanagar History and Genealogyat '' ...

s of Nawanagar, his father's family were prominent in Sarodar (or Sadodar), a village in Nawanagar State on

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

peninsula. Ranitsinhji had played

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and a number of other members of the family played cricket. As with his father and most other male members of his family, Sukhdevsinhji schooling was at the Rajkumar College in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

Sporting career

A representative

Commonwealth XI cricket team The Commonwealth XI cricket team played over 100 first-class cricket matches from 1949 to 1968. The team started out as a side made up of mostly English, Australian and West Indian cricketers, that toured the subcontinent but later on played first-c ...

, captained by Australian

Ben Barnett Benjamin Arthur Barnett (23 March 1908 – 29 June 1979) was an Australian cricketer who played in four Tests in 1938. Life and career Barnett was educated at Scotch College in Melbourne. One of six siblings, he played cricket for Hawthorn- ...

, toured India during the 1953–54 season. The tour began in

western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union te ...

, with the team's third match coming against

, a

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

side sponsored by and featuring

Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad Fatehsinghrao Prataprao Gaekwad II (2 April 1930, Baroda – 1 September 1988, Bombay) was an Indian politician, cricketer, and titular Maharaja of Baroda from 1951 until 1988. In the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India promulgated in ...

, the ruling Maharajah Gaekwad of

Baroda State Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...

. Aged 17, Sukhdevsinhji was selected to appear for Baroda in the match, in what was to be his only game at first-class level. Batting ninth in Baroda's first innings, he made three runs before being dismissed by

Jim McConnon James Edward McConnon (21 June 1922 – 26 January 2003) was an English cricketer, who played in two Tests in 1954 as an off-spin bowler. He played for Glamorgan from 1950 to 1961, albeit missing the 1956 season when he decided to play for ...

, who played two Tests for England the following season.Baroda v Commonwealth XI
Commonwealth XI in India 1953/54 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 October 2014.

Vijay Hazare Vijay Samuel Hazare (11 March 1915 – 18 December 2004) was an Indian cricketer. He captained India in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953. In India's 25th Test match, nearly 20 years after India achieved Test status, he led India to its first ...

, Baroda's captain and a Test player for India, scored 175

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

in the same innings, and he and Sukhdevsinhji featured in an 18-run

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

for the eighth wicket. However, the match finished in a draw after three days. Sukhdevsinhji remained involved in cricket long after the conclusion of his playing career, and at one stage was on the executive committee of the

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigious ...

Business career

Sukhdevsinhji attended St. Stephen's College at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

, studying economics. He was initially employed with India's

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP&NG) is a ministry of the government of India responsible for the exploration, production, refining, distribution, marketing, import, export, and conservation of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum ...

, and served as a director of the ministry's Oil Coordination Committee (OCC). Sukhdevsinhji has held board-level positions in a number of government corporations and publicly traded companies, including:Rajkumar K. Sukhdevsinhji B. A. (Economics)
– Bloomberg Businessweek profile. Retrieved 20 October 2014. * Chairman of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (and previously Managing Director), a state-controlled oil and gas corporation * Chairman of Jhagadia Copper Ltd., a copper mining firm * Managing Director of Essar Oil Ltd., an oil and gas firm * Non-Executive Director of Asahi Songwon Colors Ltd., a pigment manufacturing firm * Non-Executive Director of Swan Energy Ltd., an energy firm Sukhdevsinhji is married to Vijaylakshmi Kumari, a daughter of

Rao __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

Narayan Singh Saheb, the

Thakur Thakur may refer to: * Thakur (title), a feudal title and surname used by erstwhile nobility of India * Thakar (tribe), an Adivasi tribe of Maharashtra, India * Thakur village, a residential locality in Mumbai, India * Thakur Anoop Singh (born 198 ...

of Masuda in

Ajmer-Merwara Ajmer-Merwara, also known as Ajmir Province and as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri, was a former province of British India in the historical Ajmer region. The territory was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818. It was und ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1936 births Baroda cricketers Businesspeople from Gujarat Indian chairpersons of corporations Indian corporate directors Indian cricketers Living people People from Jamnagar Cricketers from Gujarat St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni