Cricket: Seen as more than a game in India

Cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar are idolised in India

Every shot, every spin, every pace, every swing, every six, every four, every wicket and every match is a reason to celebrate, a reason that brings a smile to a million faces. In our country, it would be anodyne to say that cricket is something way bigger than a sport. It’s the reason, the source of happiness for a lot of our people. It awakens a feeling of joy, of happiness, of victory and most importantly of infinite triumph.

I might not be able to promise a roof over every Indian’s head, but what I can promise is a feeling of belongingness and familiarity when Sachin Tendulkar walks in to bat. It’s just absolutely amazing to observe how so many hearts can feel the exact same thing at the exact same time. What I like to do often is look. Just look at a group of people watching India march to victory, in a flip of an eye, everything is forgotten. Cast, colour, ethnicity, social status is overlooked.

It is amusing, sort of unexplainable. Something about this sport makes it so special, almost a religion. Often I have tried to make sense of it. Maybe it’s because it is one of the few things that our country is good at, but then there is the media always tattling about our consistency. Maybe it’s the spirit of the game, but then there is the spot-fixing scandal. There simply is no explanation to it.

The other day, I saw a certain Virat Kohli walking into the airport. It took me a while to recognize him but when I did, it was too late. There was already half of India’s population (literally!) slaying to get a glimpse of him. Soon, I ended up feeling sad for him. I mean it is absolutely absurd to feel sad for someone who is loved by a billion, paid in millions just to watch from the pavilion. But there is something about the job.

I refuse to believe that it is easy to fulfil the expectation of 1.2 billion Indians, and if, just if you fail them, then to face the endless hullabaloos of the atrocious Indian media. Looking at the flip side of the coin, there is also a lot of appreciation. Hitting one century, suddenly transforms you into India’s hero, future, hope and a lot many other things.

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) is considered as the richest cricketing board in the entire world. You and I can only imagine the amount of money regulated in this board. There are again two sides to this part. On the brighter side, this board of noble men who have long passed their retirement ages, come together and make cricket an absolute entertainment in our country. To support this statement there are enormous evidence. There are about 50 odd international stadiums spread throughout the country which is a lot more than that of many countries. On the other side, the BCCI is a self-governing body, which gives them an open pass to corruption and exploitation of resources.

What further adds to my curiosity is the fact that hockey is still the national game of India. No offence to all of who decided on this but when was the last time that an entire family sat down and celebrated the triumph of the Indian National Hockey team? I think that we should move on. We were virtuous at hockey so it was made our national sport; today we are dominating the cricket fraternity. Cricket deserves to be the national sport, the sport that defines our country. However, I do agree that other sports are not given equal opportunity and importance.

The point of this essay is not to make the reader love the game or to boast about the success of India in this field. Honestly, it’s just the writer searching for answers. It’s not like I don’t understand them, the cricket fanatics. I am one of them. But still that doesn’t prove as to why cricket is not treated as just a game. Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s not meant to be.

If cricket becomes just another part of our country, just another sport we are good at, where will the unity go? I am not being unrealistic and saying that this sport is the single thread that binds our country but it certainly does bring us together. We all got that feeling when Dhoni hit that winning six in Wankhede in the World Cup final. I guess we should just stop looking for answers then, why fix something that isn’t broken? Let’s just all sit back and appreciate the beautiful game while India marches to victory, for years to come.