Pharmacology Nov 8

Rushi Parsaniya

ENGLISH 101

Carl Lavigne

11/01/2024

Cricket History in India: A Literature Review

For most Indians, cricket has often been more than just a sport, permeating the very Indian fabric, with social subtexts going beyond the political, cultural, or the religious. In fact, cricket has morphed into a symbol of national unity in India. According to Halder (2023), the game of cricket in India is a strong unifying force as evidenced during the 2003 Cricket World Cup as well as the India-Pakistan tours in 2004-2005 whereby cricket fever engulfed the country during the two occasions. English (2013) also argued that nothing has been able to united India more than cricket game has managed. Over the years, cricket in India has gone beyond the conventional domain of entertainment of leisure to embody big business, society, culture, and a sense of national pride, leading to a critical fulcrum of the Indian identity. This literature review examines the underlying scholarly evidence focusing on the history of cricket in India. The reviews include how cricket has evolved in the country since its inception and the overall impact the sport has had in the country.

The Evolution of the Indian Cricket

Cricket’s entire history in India can be attributed to the development of the East India Company. This company was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth in 1600 (Hurley & Heffernan, 2023). Notably, the East India Company played a fundamental role in effectively founding the city of Madras in 1639, acquisition of Bombay in 1661, and the establishment of a trading settlement, which would later be known as Calcutta (Stoddart, 2013). These locations would become major cricket centers as the continue to witness increased popularity among the native population in India. With more and more English merchants metamorphosing into rulers, they continued demonstrating their recreational endeavors in India, with the British army playing against English settlers in the very first recorded cricket match in the Indian soil in 1721 (Jha, 2019). Although no specific theories have been developed to explain the origin of the cricket sport in India, the fact that British ruled the country for more than two decades can be termed as their legacy to have introduced cricket there.

Initially, cricket was majorly played by foreigners in India, but it was not until 1848 when the game started to appear more organized following the development of the Oriental Cricket Club (Halder, 2023). With the sport continuing to attract the attention of more and more Indians, they started copying what their rulers were doing. According to Mondal et al. (2023), some Indian army members are regarded as the first group to embrace the sport in India. Following its initiation, the sport begun gaining increased popularity among Indians, with the middle and final half of the 19th century. This marked a fundamental period in the history of Cricket in India. It made the sport to spread to almost every part of the country. This era also witnessed many English teams touring India to play cricket. As a result it led to the Presidency matches between Lord Hawke’s Englishmen and the Parsis in Bombay (Hurley & Heffernan, 2023). According to English (2013), the most prominent match Bombay Presidency Match played in 1877, which would ultimately be given first-class status in 1893. This marked one of the most critical points of the Indian cricket journey. The Presidency match would become a Triangular in 1907 after Hindus joined before becoming a Quadrangular in 1912 following the entry of the Muslims (Halder, 2023). In 1937, the Anglo-Indians and Christians joined to establish a “Rest” team, thus making the annual Presidency event a Pentangular (Stoddart, 2013). The Presidency matches would be played until 1945-46 before being banned on the communal overtone grounds.

Thanks to the continuous growth and popularity of cricket in India, Test cricket officially debuted in the country in 1932 at Lord’s Cricket Ground, making it the 6th team to be granted such status (Mukharji, 2013). As a result, the Indian team under the leadership of C.K. Nayudu showcased a great performance against England although they lost the match. However, it is important to note that the first 50 years of international cricket for India was marked by various challenges. Some of the challenges include cricket team struggling to establish as a seriously competitive and strong team. Out of the 196 Test matches that the Indian cricket team played, they only won 35. However, the Indian cricket team would transform to a stronger team in the 1970s, particularly with the emergence of legendary players such as Kapil Dev, Gundappa Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, as well as the Indian spin quartet (Mondal et al., 2023). More legends like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, and Rahul Dravid would emerge in the 1980s and 1990s. Kapil Dev led the country to a historical World Cup triumph for the first time in 1983 (Jha, 2019). This was a watershed moment in the history of Indian cricket.

Indian cricket also witnessed a new resurgence in the early 2000. In this period the Sourav Ganguly-led team recorded remarkable victories such as the unforgettable win against Australia in 2001. Additionally, the team put up an exceptional performance in overseas tours, establishing itself as a force to reckon with. Under the captaincy of Ganguly, the Indian cricket team would become a dominant force in the international space where it won multiple tournaments like the 2007 T20 World Cup as well as the 2013 ICC Champions trophy (English, 2013). Indian cricket team’s dominance continued, winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, in addition to achieving various milestones that included the Sachin Tendulkar’s record-breaking centuries. In the recent years, India has further cemented its place in cricketing powerhouse.

The Impact of the Indian Cricket

A study conducted by Mondal, Plumley & Wilson (2023) revealed that the country has more than 5.5 million cricketers. Some of these play gully cricket while others are in a professional way. Following the introduction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, there has been a dramatic surge in the number of people from diverse age groups involved in the sport. India is remembered as the first team in the history of cricket to have been dismissed twice in one day during a test match (Hurley & Heffernan, 2023). Indians are often characterized with cricket obsession to the point of treating the sport as religion and their players as deities. Therefore, it may be argued that the Indian cricket has become an expression of national identity. The engagement of India with cricket across ages from colonial era to post-independence has played a fundamental role in shaping the country’s national life. Overall, cricket is a major binding factor, rallying collective identities of the Indians.

Based on the strong foundation and a tremendous popularity of the Indian cricket, most of the Indians are obsessed with the sport. The engagement of cricket with Indians as well as the manja commanded by the sport in the national consciousness has been significantly researched and documented over the years (Naha, 2017). When India plays a key cricket match, the country’s pulse is extremely palpable. According to English (2013), the test match or live telecast of cricket matches tends to bring India to the edge, as it was the case during the 2003 ICC World Cup as well as during a number of India-Pakistan matches. In fact, the Indian cricket can be likened to what football has been in the Latin America: pure passion and obsession. The impact of cricket in India tends to permeate everyday life. Stoddart (2013) posited that Indian children are fond of playing cricket anywhere, from parking lots to beside railway tracks, between buildings to narrow side streets, and even close to Bombay airport’s runway (Mukharji, 2013). This shows that the Indian cricket has grown its roots very deep across the country, and virtually everyone is involved with the sport in one way or another.

Halder (2023) provided critical insights regarding the scale of the Indian cricket, the money associated with the sport, the politics involved, as well as the frenzy of cricket matches in the country. The study revealed that for a big one-day international cricket match, the minimum television viewership is more than one-fifth (approximately 200 million people) of the India’s population. Upon team announcement, majority of the media channels in the country tend to break away from current affairs programs or news and cross over to the cricket reporter (Hurley & Heffernan, 2023). This is also evidenced when channels scroll live cricket scores at the bottom of the screen, just as it is the case with breaking news, which shows the magnitude of the Indian cricket among the citizens.

Generally, the Indian cricket does not leave any place untouched, be it regionalism, superstitions, or religious rites. For instance, prior the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003, a kin to the Indian captain together with a local mayor and councilor attended yagna the entire day as a way of boosting the chances of winning for the Indian team (Ponsford, 2019). Indeed, the yagna also drew people of other religions and sects as well as priests from other religions, all joining for the sake of ensuring success of their team in the match (Naha, 2017). English (2013) also pointed out that when a player from a particular region puts up a poor performance in a cricket game or is dropped from the team, there is usually a high likelihood that protests characterized by mob fury will be held. This shows the level of mass hysteria that the Indian cricket commands. Many Indian cricketers have realized iconic status. According to Mondal, Plumley & Wilson (2023), almost all television adverts in India have a cricketer. This means that apart from being popular, Indian cricketers are very much adored by the audience. The mass hysteria associated with the Indian cricket players across the country extends beyond movie star or rock star status. Therefore, cricketers in India enjoy a special status, which can only be paralleled by movie stars and some prominent politicians.

With the dramatic evolution transformation of the Indian cricket in the last few decades, the sport has become a big business, thanks to mass media coverage, the IPL, global television networks, and multinational sponsors. It is noteworthy that a developing country like India is currently a major player in the international sports space. The morphing of cricket in India to become a commercial powerhouse is, undoubtedly, a key driver to the country’s economy. Research evidence has proved that the amount of money that flows into the Indian cricket is phenomenal. For instance, Ray (2013) revealed that despite only being launched in 2008, the IPL is worth over $2 billion. Over the Rs. 10 billion were spent in marketing the 2003 World Cup, with almost all promotion and advertisement in India being cricket-related during the period (Stoddart, 2013). Additionally, Pepsi launched the “Pepsi blue” flavor for the company’s cola, which showed support for the Indian team considering that blue was the team’s color. According to Ponsford (2019), the Indian cricket team is the highest paid across the globe. The huge sums of money that has been invested in the Indian cricket has placed the country’s cricketers among the highest earners in India, with bulk of the earnings emanating from endorsements as opposed to cricket contract payments and match fees.

Conclusion

With the continued evolution of the Indian cricket, new challenges and opportunities are inevitable. However, with a pool of passionate fans and talented players, there is no doubt that the future of cricket in the country is extremely promising. Regardless of whether the Indian cricket enters the T20s, ICC Cricket World Cup, or the Test arena, there is no doubt that the country will continue leaving its indelible mark in the cricketing world. Generally, the history of Indian cricket may be considered to be a saga of determination, passion, and resilience. From the model beginnings to being a global cricketing force, the Indian cricket is nothing short of extraordinary. As the country looks ahead to new victories and challenges, the undying support and love from millions of Indians who perceive cricket as more than a mere game is bound to remain constant.

References