The All-India Inter-University Cricket Championship held for the Rohinton Baria Gold Trophy is India's premier inter-university cricket tournament. It has been contested annually since the 1935/36 season.
History
The trophy was donated in 1935 by Ardeshir Dadabhoy Baria of Bombay in memory of his son Rohinton, for a tournament to be played between the Indian universities. Initially, the Board of Control for Cricket in India organised the tournament, but the Inter-University Sports Board of India took over in 1940/41. 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 when Bombay University, having set Delhi University 728 to win, dismissed them for 611 in 304.1 overs. Apart from Indian universities, Ceylon University also participated from 1947/48 to 1969/70. The only university from the futurePakistan to compete before partition was University of the Punjab, Lahore which won the title four times. In its early decades participation in the tournament helped prepare many future Test and first-class players, especially in the larger universities. In their team that won the 1940/41 final, Bombay University had four future Indian Test players, while in their 1958/59 champion team they had five future Test players. In their 1945-46 team Punjab University included seven players who later played a prominent part in Pakistan's Test successes in the 1950s. According to the writer and former Rohinton Baria Trophy and Ranji TrophyplayerVenkatraman Ramnarayan, the Rohinton Baria also provided a valuable "finishing school" for future leaders, and a model of dignified behaviour on the sports field which is now lacking. With the rise of widespread junior competitions and coaching for young players, interest in inter-university cricket has waned in recent decades.
