Gentlemen to macho men’s market

The British sailors are supposed to be the first people on the Indian soil to have played cricket in the 17th century. Cricket, the game o...

The British sailors are supposed to be the first people on the Indian soil to have played cricket in the 17th century. Cricket, the game of the landed aristocracy in England they love to call it the Gentleman’s game spread its wings in all British colonies. Nowhere else did it strike firmer roots than in the sub-continent. So much so that today, the game finds its survival challenged in its birth place, but in India it is the passion of the masses and the place for the players to make money.

The Parsees were the first to take up the game in large numbers in India no wonder they are called India’s Hambledon men and slowly the Maharajas started to patronise the game, more to ingratiate themselves to their British masters than out of any real love for the game. No matter what the politics behind their move, it helped the game gain in popularity and players who could not afford to play, got an opportunity of employment as well.

The Pentangular was the first competitive tournament but the classification ofteams on religious basis the Parsees, the Hindus, the Muslims was too distasteful for many political leaders. It slowly changed to give place to state-based representation. Cricket slowly gained in ascendancy and finally the day came, June 25, 1932 at the Lord’s when India played their first Test.

CK Nayudu’s colossal hitting powers were the first to stir the imagination of the Indian public and the exploits of Mohammed Nissar and Amar Singh with the new ball in the very first Test match of the nation gave the Indians a sense of pride in themselves. The great Lala Amarnath’s all-round skills, his short temperament, the perfection of Vijay Merchant’s technique, Vijay Hazare’s feat of scoring a century in both innings, Vinoo Mankad’s endurance of skill and stamina on the field for a full five days… there were innumerable individual feats of brilliance. But as a team India lacked something to stay together and win more often.

Not that India did not win. In 1952 India beat England for the first time.India did the same to the Australians but it was only in 1971 India could win their first important overseas series, against the West Indies. Of much more historic significance was the win at The Oval in England in the same year. Beating England in England for the first time was something special and India had arrived.

Indian cricket history is replete with outstanding individual achievements. The great Sunil Gavaskar was the first to make 10,000 Test runs and still holds the record of scoring the maximum number of Test hundreds 34. The legendary Kapil Dev, whose all-round skills fascinated the world, is the highest Test wicket-taker 434 and Anil Kumble’s 10 wickets in one innings are all savoured.

The subtle skills of the famed spin quartet Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkatraghavan gave Indian cricket a new dimension. The touch artistry of Gundappa Vishwanath and the arrival of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were to shape a new destiny for the team. The1983 World Cup victory turned us into an instant-lover’ nation and one-day cricket took precedence over Tests.

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The arrival of the TV age, of liberalisation and of Sachin Tendulkar has turned cricket’s face upside down and today it is the most popular and the most lucrative field. The Indian Board is the richest in the world and cricket seems to be the staple diet of the masses.

India may be undisputed champions at home but outside they have done little of note. This imbalance is galling and in choosing the ten best moments of Indian cricket, we are forced to ignore individual brilliance and stress on the collective efforts. The only exceptions have been made for Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly. The reason being this trio has the talent to correct this historic imbalance and lead India to better results overseas as we step into the next millennium.

Tomorrow: Football