He had strange ideas about self rule, he liked women, a vice which quite a few British political officers found, to their dismay, extended to their married wives. He declared war on neighbouring states on simple pretexts. He could finish a lamb in a single setting and ask for more. But, unlike his father, who was openly nationalist and paid for it with his life, Bhupinder was also pragmatic and possessed a sharp intelligent brain. He epitomized the eccentricities of the native rajahs and thus always kept the British off guard.
Indian cricket is all the better for that.
Since the moment he saw Ranji crack that 250 against Viceroy s best, he worshipped the very ground the Prince Jamnagar strode on. And so it was inevitable that Maharajah Patiala should manage to acquire enough funding and players to organize the first tour to England in 1911. It was his untiring efforts and Patiala's loose purse-strings that made the tour possible. Faguram, the attacking bat for Hindus, and a few others of the higher caste declined the trip for fear of losing their caste. Actually, the Europeans had protested his inclusion in the Hindu side in the Presidency match after he ran through them.