How Indian leg cricket captain Chandan Ray is spearheading the sport's fight for recognition

In India, watching young kids running outside their houses with a cricket bat and a set of stumps is a common sight. Labelling cricket as yet another religion would not be a far cry, for the sheer number of Indians who take to the sport is a large figure.

However, in the state of Orissa, there's a particular sport which has attracted a lot of youngsters. And that sport is leg cricket.

The reason for the popularity of leg cricket is pretty straightforward. It's easy to play, for the sport requires a football, a set of stumps and a ground to play. Over time, Chandan Ray, who is the captain of the Indian leg cricket team has made a name out of playing the sport and is one of the most popular sports stars in his state.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Ray speaks about the origin of the sport in India, the challenges of promoting a niche sport and the potential of making a career out of playing leg cricket.

"The idea to play leg cricket and its rule book was conceived back in 2010 by Mr Joginder Prasad Verma (Secretary of International Leg Cricket Council and Leg Cricket Federation of India). Children from different states wanted to play cricket and football, but did not have financial backing. Leg cricket was proposed to give them a chance to play sport," say Ray.

As for Ray himself, the 21-year-old took to the sport in 2013, when he was only 15 years of age. Ray claims that he was introduced to the sport while waiting for the results of his 10th board exams, and was immediately hooked on.

Ray setting the field during a leg cricket match

"In 2013, I wrote my 10th board exams and was waiting for my results. My friends made me play the sport, my PE teacher asked me to try it out. I started playing it and I realised I am good at leg cricket, that's what fueled my desire to play even more," he said.

The sport of leg cricket is played on a circular ground with a radius of 80 to 120 feet. The pitch is generally 8 feet wide and 42-48 feet long, and the dimensions differ with age groups.

As for fitness routines, Ray claims that his team follows a variety of drills to keep in shape. While the focus is generally on strengthening the core area and legs, the leg cricketers also do fielding drills and kicking practice as a part of their training.

Indian leg cricket team

Ray sheds light on how it was initially difficult to form a strong team, but the idea was to maintain a strong balance of players with different skills. And as far as the need to spread the sport across genders and age goes, Ray is happy with the progress.

"You have to motivate players. They were two ways for me, one was to take talented individuals to form a team. It didn't matter if they were differently minded individuals, to maintain the perfect balance was key. It's good to see the sport already has interested individuals taking to leg cricket across age groups in both the men's and women's divisions," Ray added.

In the modern age of franchise-based league revolutionizing the approach towards sports, the concept of a league for leg cricket was put into motion, but the commencement of such a tournament has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chandan Ray has led team India spendidly in the past

Having made his national leg cricket team debut in 2013, Ray has steadily climbed up the ladder of success. The 21-year-old holds the record for most consecutive wins as captain and also led the side to title wins at the 1st Indo-Nepal series and the inaugural South Asian Championship.

For Ray, his family and his girlfriend have been a 'backbone' of sorts, fuelling his desire to make a career out of leg cricket. However, due to the lack of recognition associated with leg cricket from the sports ministry, Ray is working hard to study for the CAT exam, which he needs to clear to pursue an MBA degree.

And, while Ray's 100% efforts are to ensure that leg cricket gets due recognition from the sports ministry, the Indian leg cricket captain hopes to see it being included in premier events such as the Khelo India Games.

"I feel including it in the Khelo India, Khelo University Games would be best. Getting sponsorship for leg cricket, given that it is a lesser known sport is a big challenge. Post the lockdown, I am looking forward to playing more matches and ensure that the sport gets recognition from the ministry," Ray concluded.