Question

In the early phase of Indian First Class cricket, teams were not organized on geographical basis but on _____.
1. Gender basis
2. Communal basis
3. Caste basis
4. Linguistic basis

Answer 1

Hint:
The first all-Indian cricket club was established by the Parsis.
There used to be a Quadrangular tournament between the Europeans, Parsis, Hindus and Muslims.


Complete answer:
The early phase of Indian first class cricket was when India was a British Colony. The teams were organized on the basis of race and religion. The first Indian Cricket club was the Calcutta Cricket Club, established in 1792. It was an all-whites club formed by the British expatriates. The Parsis were the first Indians to establish an all-indians cricket club. They established the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1848. The club was sponsored by Parsi businessmen like Tata and Wadia. Soon the Hindus and Muslims also made their own clubs around the 1890s.
After the establishment of four cricket clubs on communal lines, the Quadrangular Tournament was organized. It had four participating teams, i.e. the Parsis, the Europeans,the Hindus and the Muslims. Later, a fifth team was formed which was composed of players who were from other communities and was called The Rest. Vijay Hazare was a Christian player who played for The Rest. Since then, the Quadrangular tournament changed into a Pentangular tournament.
Around the 1930s and 1940s, the cricketers, journalists and political leaders started criticizing the racial and communal origins of the Pentangular Tournament, and so to end this unethical division, a National Cricket Championship was started. For this tournament, the teams were made on the basis of regional divisions. This brought an end to the communal basis of team formation in Indian Cricket.


Therefore the answer is 2. Communal basis


Note:
The National Championship that was started to end the communal basis of team formation is currently known as the Ranji Trophy.
The tournament was named as Ranji Trophy in 1934. It was named after Ranjitsinhji, who was the first Indian cricketer ever to play International Cricket.