Books 2024: A Corner Of A Foreign Field
By Ramachandra Guha
Indian Cricket has proven itself multiple times to encompass people from all walks of life. Its ability to navigate the complex components of the South Asian Society, right from asserting itself to the ‘Colonial Powers’ to declaring its rightful place in the current nation state, cannot be more transparent in its glorious history of ~200 years in the subcontinent!
With the introduction of the game in the sub-continent by the British in 18th Century, records can be found that the Parsis were already playing cricket by the 1830s in Bombay. It was more about Indians adopting the game from its racial superiors and pointing out that this was a game was of interest among the commoners as well.
Early days were marred by soft battles of where the Indians would play cricket without causing inconvenience to the rulers, leading to indigenous communities setting up their own sporting clubs to promote the game. Hence, the cricketing spirit was established with the help of social and economic sponsorship and likewise, Bombay continued to be the mecca of pre-colonial cricket in India.
Cricket was a game of the rich and royalty! Clubs were designed on communal lines, each playing against each other — for pride and prejudice, Cricket being the underdog beneficiary in the process. The fundamentalist forces clashed vehemently, age old practices were highlighted and talent was subdued. The author’s in-depth research digs out the forgotten legends of the game when it was not played under the ‘Indian’ flag — the likes of Baloo brothers were a case in point.
Subsequently, cricket becomes a religion and starts to question the famous ‘angular’ contests in Bombay. These contests can be seen as a precursor to the Indian Premier League today, as it drew top players around the sub-continent. We see the ‘Maharajas’ often releasing their players so that they can be at the center of these thrilling contests.
Public love for the game is evident, as stories claim people leaving work to indulge in fried grams and cover drives! Nonetheless, the freedom struggle made its way into these stands. Calls for boycott of this colonial pastime was raised, only to be sublimed because people cared more for cricket. Cricket fervor continues to be at the center of the politics in the sub-continent with all the 4 countries being test playing nations and the Heads of State value the game a lot, reflecting the emotions of the people.
In the recent, years we see the advent of shorter formats of the game and contests played in larger numbers. The financial position of the players seems to have improved from the token match fees paid during the British Raj. With commercialization and endorsements, Cricket is a lucrative profession now. India did become the center of ‘World Cricket’, taking it away and further from those Englishmen trying to cope with homesickness in a foreign land!
(PS: this is a personal interpretation of the facts presented by the author)