It’s no exaggeration to say that cricket is an Indian sport that just happened to be invented by the British. The passion for the game in India is unmatched. Whether it’s a narrow street or a paddy field after harvest, it doesn’t take Indians much time to start a game. That interest is also reflected in the boom in the fantasy cricket space, with an app like Howzat now having more than 1.5 crore users. Here, we look at 3 reasons why the bond that Indians have with cricket is unshakeable. 

The sport’s new heartland

The British may have invented the sport, but there’s no doubt that cricket’s beating heart is now in India. The country has by far the largest audience, and it provides the most sponsors, equipment manufacturers and various other components of the cricket ecosystem. India played its first international match in 1932 but didn’t enjoy much success until the early 1970s. But the World Cup win of 1983 – masterminded by the dashing all-round play and captaincy of Kapil Dev – took Indians’ interest in the game to a whole new level. Until then, cricket competed for interest with hockey and football. But after that, cricket left every other sport far behind. The advent of Sachin Tendulkar in 1989, and his stellar 24-year career, only strengthened the bond the fans have with the sport. 

Success breeds interest

Nothing enthuses a new generation of fans like success. The Indian hockey team won 7 Olympic golds between 1928 and 1960, but the relative lack of success after that has been one major factor in the decline of interest in hockey. Cricket’s trajectory was very different. After no success for nearly 4 decades, the Indian team started notching up notable victories. The World Cup win in 1983 inspired an entire generation. They reached the World Cup final in 2003, and then won it in 2011. The 21st century journey has also included a T20 World Cup win in 2007, and Champions Trophy titles in 2002 (shared with Sri Lanka) and 2013, as well as long stints as the No.1-ranked Test team in the world. The progress started under the leadership of S. Ganguly was carried forward by M.S. Dhoni and V. Kohli, under whom India became the world’s most feared side. These days, no dream team is complete without 3-4 Indian players. 

Indian T20 League

Winning international tournaments like the World Cup and the T20 World Cup remains the pinnacle of a player’s career, but nothing has transformed the sport in India quite like the Indian T20 League. Not only did it draw in a new generation of fans, but it also resulted in a huge explosion of interest at the grassroots level. These days, cricket stars no longer just come from India’s bigger cities. They come from every nook and corner of the country, and from all kinds of economic backgrounds. The tournament has made it possible for dozens of players to enjoy lucrative careers even if they don’t earn the cherished India cap. At the same time, it keeps providing a steady conveyer belt of talent for the national team. Given the population, India always had the potential to dominate the sport. But it was the establishment of the Indian T20 League that started the process of converting that limitless potential into actual results.