This player was first Indian cricketer to buy private jet; not Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh became the first ever Indian cricketer to have his own private jet, despite being born centuries before wealthy players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni.
While Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are some of the wealthiest cricketers in the history of the game, it is surprising that they are not the ones who were the first to purchase a luxurious private airplane. In fact, the first Indian cricketer to purchase a private jet was Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.
While there are reports that Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli have purchased private jets, the first cricketer to do so in India was Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh, who is the former king of Patiala.
Bhupinder Singh was crowned the king of the Princely State of Patiala when he was just 9 years old. He remained the king of Patiala (Punjab) from 1900 to 1938, just a few years before India gained independence from British rule.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had a luxurious lifestyle and a massive kingdom, and he was the first Indian to buy an aircraft. The king of Punjab made the purchase of the private jet in 1910, when he was just 19 years old, from the United Kingdom.
In fact, the Maharaja also built an airstrip inside his kingdom for private aircraft from the UK. Not many know but despite being one of the youngest kings in India, Bhupinder Singh was one of the best cricket players of pre-Independent India.
Apart from having a luxurious lifestyle, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was passionate about cricket and was part of the cricket team Patiala XI, which was considered one of the best of its time. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh led the Indian cricket team that visited England in 1911.
Throughout his cricket career, the Maharaja of Patiala played 27 first-class cricket matches and was also part of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1926. Bhupinder Singh was also named the captain of the Indian cricket team in 1932 for a Test tour of England but didn’t go because of health reasons.
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