Cricket is the most popular sport in India. It is played almost everywhere in the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the governing body of cricket in India. It conducts all the domestic tournaments in India and select the players for the India national cricket team and the India women's national cricket team to represent India at international cricket.
International cricket in India does not follow a consistent pattern and is spread throughout the calendar year, unlike the Australian and English cricket teams who tour other countries during their respective winter and play at home during their respective summer. The India cricket team is one of the most successful cricket teams in the world, having won 2 Cricket World Cups, 3 T20 World Cups, 3 Champions Trophies and finishing runners-up twice in World Test Championships. The India women's national cricket team has also won a Women's Cricket World Cup. India has hosted multiple Cricket World Cups, and will host the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, the 2029 Champions Trophy, and the 2031 Cricket World Cup in future.
Cricket is an important part of Indian culture and top players, like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev, Polly Umrigar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Lala Amarnath, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson often attain celebrity status and are some of the most influential figures in the country. Cricket is often portrayed patriotically in popular Indian films, including the Academy Award-nominated film, Lagaan, and 83, the 2021 sports drama film about India's Cricket World Cup victory in 1983. The Indian cricket team shares a long-standing rivalry with the Pakistan cricket team, and India-Pakistan matches are some of the most anticipated matches in the world, and one of the most watched television broadcasts in the world. The India–Australia cricket rivalry is a highly intense and competitive rivalry within the sport of cricket. The matches between these countries are known for their intensity. These matches are considered among the most-viewed sporting events globally.
History
Cricket was brought to India in the early 1700s, with the first documented instance of cricket being played in 1721. At the time of its introduction, it served as a medium for Indians to integrate into British cultural norms.Dominic Malcolm, Globalizing Cricket: Englishness, Empire and Identity (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2014). By serving as a bridge between the two groups, it facilitated assimilation. During its early years in India, the sport was played by Indian elites to gain favour with the British. This association with the elite increased the sport's value and popularity across the country.Miller, Aaron. "NATION AT PLAY: A History of Sport in India." Pacific Affairs 91, no. 2 (06, 2018): 414-415. Although it began as a foreign sport, the sport ultimately became associated with India and began to play a role in India's identity. In the late 1800s, cricket's image began to shift from being an exclusively upper-class sport as players from lower castes and underprivileged communities began to play and make their mark.Hillman, Ben. The China Journal, no. 53 (2005): 196–97. https://doi.org/10.2307/20066022.
1800s to 1918
The first ever match of first-class cricket played in India was in 1864 between Calcutta and Madras (now Chennai). Not many records exist from the match. The entire history of cricket in India and the sub-continent as a whole is based on the existence and development of the British Raj via the East India Company.
1918 to 1945
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.The All India team in England 1932. Wisden Almanack Archive via ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
1945 to 1960
The major and defining event in the history of Indian cricket during this period was the Partition of India following full independence from the British Raj in 1947.
An early casualty of change was the Bombay Quadrangular tournament, which had been a focal point of Indian cricket for over 50 years. The new India had no place for teams based on ethnic origin. As a result, the Ranji Trophy came into its own as the national championship. The last Bombay Pentangular, as it had become, was won by the Hindus in 1945–46.
India also recorded its first Test victory in 1952, beating England by an innings in Madras.
1960 to 1970
One team totally dominated Indian cricket in the 1960s. As part of 14 consecutive victories in the Ranji Trophy from 1958–59 to 1972–73, Bombay won the title in all ten seasons of the period under review. Among its players were Farokh Engineer, Dilip Sardesai, Bapu Nadkarni, Ramakant Desai, Baloo Gupte, Ashok Mankad and Ajit Wadekar. The Duleep Trophy was inaugurated as a zonal competition in the 1961–1962 season. It was named after Ranji's nephew, Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji (1905–59). With Bombay in its catchment, it is not surprising that the West Zone won six of the first nine titles.
1970 to 1985
Bombay ( now Mumbai) continued to dominate Indian domestic cricket, with only Karnataka, Delhi, and a few other teams able to mount any kind of challenge during this period.
India enjoyed two international highlights. In 1971, they won a Test series in England for the first time ever, surprisingly defeating Ray Illingworth's Ashes winners. In 1983, India were surprise winners of the 1983 Cricket World Cup, in England, under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev was also most known for the "Viv Richards Catch", scoring 175 not out, ( the first ODI century by an Indian), and breaking the World Record of Glenn Turner's 171. 183 is the lowest score ever defended in a world cup final.
During the 1970s, the Indian cricket team began to see success overseas beating New Zealand, and holding Australia, South Africa and England to a draw. The backbone of the team was the Indian spin quartet – Bishen Bedi, E. A. S. Prasanna, B. S. Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, giving rise to what would later be called the Golden Era of Indian cricket history. This decade also saw the emergence of two of India's best ever batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath responsible for the back-to-back series wins in 1971 in the West Indies and in England, under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar.
The Indian women's team made its test debut in 1976, becoming the third nation to do so. It made its ODI debut on 1 January 1978.
1985 to 2000
In the late 1980s, British networks broadcast continuous live coverage of overseas matches. This was a major factor in shaping what was now becoming the modern game of cricket. Modern technology and the establishment of specialized television networks fostered global interest for the sport. ESPN and Star Sports added cricket to their 24-hour of continuous live coverage. Global popularity increased in the Eastern world. The Indian Premier League, a domestic league was established soon after.
During the 1980s, India developed a more attack-focused batting line-up with talented batsmen such as Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri prominent during this decade. Despite India's victory in the Cricket World Cup in 1983, the team performed poorly in the Test arena, including 28 consecutive Test matches without a victory. However, India won the Asia Cup in 1984 and won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985. The 1987 Cricket World Cup was held in India and Pakistan – the first time it was played outside England.
From the 1993–94 season, the Duleep Trophy was converted from a knockout competition to a league format.
Several team names and spellings were altered during the 1990s when traditional Indian names were introduced to replace those that were associated with the British Raj. Most notably, Bombay became Mumbai and the famous venue of Madras became Chennai.
Despite its arrival in the 1700s, cricket's popularity grew steadily as it spread across regions. It became a unifying factor in the country, transcending social and cultural barriers.Khalid, Adeeb. "Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire. by Prashant Kidambi,. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. Viii, 423 Pp. ISBN 9780198843139." The Journal of Asian Studies 79, no. 4 (11, 2020): 1045-1046. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021911820002788. The sport was initially popular amongst the elite, but it began to transcend as people from lower castes came together to play, watch, and engage with the sport. Post-independence, cricket continued to flourish and became an integral part of the nation's fabric, particularly in its rivalries, the most prominent of which is India v Pakistan. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) emerged as a pivotal force, steering the sport toward globalization. Technology also played a crucial role by increasing accessibility, bringing live cricket matches into homes and amplifying its reach and impact.Khondker, H. H., & Robertson, R. (2018). Glocalization, consumption, and cricket: The Indian Premier League. Journal of Consumer Culture, 18(2), 279-297.
A significant change in cricket's globalization in India came with success on the international stage. Victories in major tournaments aided in global reach, but a tipping point occurred in the win of 1983 Cricket World Cup.Nadkarni, Shiresh. “New Master of ‘Instant’ Game.” New Straits Times, June 28, 1983. This tournament was led by Kapil Dev, with Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar also becoming prominent figures in the sport's growing popularity during this period. These players came from backgrounds outside the traditional upper-class elite, emerging as cultural icons who represented the dreams and aspirations of Indians and foster fostering a great sense of pride.Mustafa, Fahad. “Cricket and Globalization: Global Processes and the Imperial Game.” Journal of Global History 8, no. 2 (2013): 318–41. doi:10.1017/S1740022813000247. Their success on the global stage in a post-colonial India resonated deeply with India as it evoked pride and honor which many had not felt in a long time.
In addition to the increased sense of nationalism which aided in its globalization, cricket mirrored the changing socio-political landscape of India. By shifting a once elite sport into something accessible to the masses, the sport echoed societal transformations with the rise of the middle class.Guha, Ramachandra. “Cricket and Politics in Colonial India.” Past & Present, no. 161 (1998): 155–90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/651075. Cricket became a vessel for social mobility and offered opportunities and hope to people across India regardless of their religion, caste, or social standing. With the increased popularity of the sport in India, especially in the 1980s, international satellite television networks began broadcasting cricket because of its global audience and the newly emerged market of viewers in India.Bateman, Jerram, and Tony Binns. "More than Just a Game?: Grass Roots Cricket and Development in Mumbai, India." Progress in Development Studies 14, no. 2 (2014): 147-61. In order to secure their place, these networks negotiated broadcasting rights with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which gave the BCCI an immense amount of wealth which further aided in the globalization of cricket.