Cricket: How it Became 'a Sport to a Profession' in India | Chapter - 01: Inception: How, When and Why?

Chapter - 01

Inception: How, when and why?

Ground: Shivamogga, KSCA

Before taking you to the inception let me tell you how this sport has been a part of my life. At an early age, I was introduced to this game. It was from my brothers that I got this game’s interest. It was like I was meant to be at this kind of stage. I know everyone who has given their heart and soul to this sport might have felt the same sensations. After that, it just grew more and more inside me. There were a thousand things in the world that I could have become but I chose cricket over all of those things. And yet I couldn’t get to where I intended to be. Again, that is a different story. Why am I babbling this to you? because the sport has impacted so much in my life and I feel like it is losing its charm. This concern has seeded this dilemma in me of “How it became a Sport to a Profession”. So, as I explore this dilemma I may or may not get to any conclusion, but I hope it can put some sense on the younger generation what this sport really means in India. Especially for those who just started out their cricketing journey.

 

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Britishers playing cricket in India | Source: Google

            As we continue in our quest for the conclusions; first it is important to know what we are talking about here and where it all started. As I researched it is said that Cricket was brought to India in the early 1700s, with the first documented insurance of cricket being played in 1721. It was being played to act as a bridge between the two groups. And which of the two groups? It is said that one group is the Portuguese from France, and the other is the Britishers from England. They both had the neutral sea route because of that they would often have quarrels so to take time out of it or to resolve some tensions, they would often play cricket among themselves.  But the first recorded cricket match was played between the British army and the England settlers in 1951. Isn’t it fascinating to dig into the history of cricket in India? The game had nothing to do with India in the early days. It was just a game played between two foreigners. This means it had nothing to do with us Indians at the core of the beginning. 

 

First Indian Test cricket team back in 1900's

               As time progressed it made its way into the elites among the Indians. But the question is when and how did it dissolve into our culture and become this popular? It is said that it was spectators who were locals of India who were watching cricket matches played at times got interested in the sport and started playing. Also, it is said that it was first the military regiments who showed real interest in the sport. As the sport started spreading, the game also gradually began to gain popularity in the country. The teams were being forged. Matches were being played. And the clubs were being founded. This all was happening just after gaining traction among the locals in the 1800’s.

              

KUMAR SHRI RANJITSINHJI

               The sport was gaining momentum in no time. After a century the sport had many prominent names in it. Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji was getting all the attention of the Britishers in the 1890s because of his elegance with his wristwork with the bat. Pherozeshah Mehta, one of the eminent Indians of the time and most successful cricketer was the round-arm bowler Dr. Mehellasha Pavri, they were also getting seen by the Britishers. In the 1900’s, the annual matches started kicking off and the whole country was keen on taking part in them as the sport gradually started growing its mark in the country. The Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, the Muslims, the Christians and the Anglo-Indians everyone formed their troops around the mid-1900s and showed their presence in the Annual presidency matches. It is also reported that teams from India were being sent to England to play matches and wise-a-versa the foreign teams were coming to India for matches. The sport was no more just a game to be played. The Britishers were praising Indian cricket, and they were keen to introduce them to the international arena. To do so, they needed a sole combined team to be formed. So, they decided to form the board that we now know as BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to combine with all the prominent cricket-playing bodies in India.  They were successful in doing so. In the mid-1900’s the BCCI was formed, and India became a test-playing nation just after the establishment of the board in 1932. It was one after the other milestones for Indian cricket. They hosted an international cricket series welcoming South Africa and England in the same year. The sport was spreading like a wild forest fire. Some saw the sport as a passion while others were still figuring out what it was. The game seemed to eradicate the disputes that were waging among the different communities inside the country making unity to just enjoy the game of cricket. However, the annual matches which are also called 'the Bombay tournament’ kept going till 1945-46 after that the sport was banned due to communal disruptions that were happening among the Indians. Just after the partition the Bombay Tournament had to sink under to make way for another National tournament and that is the Ranji trophy.

 

 

Did you know?

1.      The Calcutta Cricket Club (now known as CC&FC) was established in 1792 and it is said as the second oldest cricket club after MCC (1787).

2.      The first ever match of first-class cricket played in India was in 1864 between Calcutta and Madras.

3.      India became the sixth national team to play Test cricket on their 1932 tour of England. Captained by C. K. Nayudu, their inaugural Test was against England at Lord's Cricket Ground from 25 to 28 June, but they were defeated by 158 runs.

4.      Govan was the first President, and De Mello the first Secretary. Five months later after its establishment, the ICC admitted India as a Full Member.

5.      The Bombay Tournament was an annual cricket competition held in British India between 1892 and 1946. Until 1936, matches were played on either the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay or the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona, and then at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay until the tournament was terminated in 1946. The tournament was known variously as the Bombay Presidency Match, Bombay Triangular, Bombay Quadrangular, and Bombay Pentangular, depending on the number of competing teams.

Sources: Wikipedia & BCCI

 

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