Indian Cricket

Cricket -The unofficial national game of India is a game of glorious uncertainties. Though the game originated in England, but it is much more popular in India than its home country. The origin of game can be traced back to the 13th century in a place known as Weald, located between Kent and Sussex in England. At that time cricket was in its rudimentary form and was played by the children of farmers of Weald. The first mention of cricket is found in Florio's Italian - English dictionary in 1598. There are many beliefs regarding the origin of word cricket. Some people believe it is originated from a French word "Crequet", meaning a Club. Others believe it to be originated from a Flemish word "Krick" meaning a stick others believe it to be the English word which has its roots in old English word "Crycc" which means a Staff or a Crutch. It may have originated from any of the word but the thing worth notice is that today it is one of the most popular games of the world and especially India. The most popular game of the world soccer does not have such a fan following in India as cricket has. The cricket was introduced to India by the British.


A Journey from Past to Present

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Cricket - "The gentleman's game" came to India in the 17th century. The reference of first cricket match played in India dates back to 1721. Parsis, a community in India around Mumbai region, showed considerable interest in the game. They started playing cricket however it was not in a very organized form. In 1848 with the opening of the first cricket club of India in Mumbai, which was named as "Oriental Cricket Club", Indian cricket began to take an organized shape. Parsis played their first cricket match with Europeans in 1877. Gradually the people of the other communities also started embracing the game. In 1900 some players of India started playing cricket for English cricket team. They were highly appreciated by the English for their prowess. This includes legendary Sir Ranjisinhji and Sir KS Duleepsinhji after whose names two of India's most important domestic tournaments have been named.

The Indian cricket team began its first official cricket tour in the year 1911. They played English Cricket County but were unable to register any win. However, they came back rich in experience. In 1926 Indian Cricket team joined Imperial Cricket Council, which is now known as the International Cricket Council (ICC). In 1932, India was given the status of test playing nation. Now India became sixth test playing nation of the world under the leadership of famous CK Nayudu. Though he was an able captain but Indian team could not win any match from 1932 to 1950 however it continued to improve. India tasted its first ever test win in 1952 when it defeated England in Madras. This triumph continued with the test series win over Pakistan in 1952 and test victory over New Zealand in 1956 under the leadership of Lala Amarnath and Polly Umrigar respectively. India could not continue its triumph for long and rest of the 1950s did not bring India any victory. Even in 1960s India managed to win just two test series one against England in 1961-62 and the other against New Zealand in 1964-65. There was not one player in India at that time that had the international competing skills. 1970s saw India's resurgence with the emergence of players such as Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrashekhar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, and Srinivas Venkatraghavan made a mark. At the same time India also produced some of the finest batsman of its history such as Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanathan. India registered its arrival with test wins against two of the strongest cricket playing nations in 1970-71 i.e. West Indies and England but even then it was not able to mark its presence in the World Cup. Though some of its players were showing promise but it was enough to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup. India was [r1]not able to go beyond first round in the initial two World Cups. At the end of 1970s things began to brighten up as India registered three remarkable victories over West Indies, Australia and Pakistan under the leadership of Sunil Gavaskar. Then came the best phase of Indian cricket, the phase which every Indian was dreaming of. With the inclusion of players such as Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Dileep Vengaskar India made a remarkable leap in the history of the world cricket by winning the World Cup in 1983. This world cup win marked the popularity of cricket in India. Then onwards cricket became the game of the masses even our national game hockey does not stand anywhere near it in the matter of popularity. With World Cup started India's "caravan" of cup victories as after winning World Cup it also won two other major Cricket Tournaments. It won Asia Cup in 1984 and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985. 1980s saw some of the brightest moments of Indian cricket. In 1989 inclusion of a lean boy of 16 years of age was a landmark in the history of not only India, but of the world. This boy Sachin Tendulkar, is today compared with the greatest cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman. He has surpassed some of the records set up by Sir Bradman and is given the title of 'Master Blaster'. In 1990 another laurel was added to the Indian cricket team in the name of spinner Anil Kumble. Despite the inclusion of biggies in the team India remained a weak test nation outside the sub-continent. It was not able to perform even averagely. It is evident from the fact that out of the 33 tests played by India outside sub continent it was not able to win even a single one. And on the home front too it was not able to show any competence as out of the 30 test played it could manage to win just 17. In 1990s some other renowned players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Javagal Srinath also became part of the Indian cricket squad and as twenty first century approached India again tried to gain its position in cricket. It remained successful to some extent as in 2003 world cup India reached the finals it came next to just the competing giants of cricket that is Australia. And now India is at the sixth place in ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket ranking.


Governing Body

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In India the governing body of cricket is known as Board of Control for Cricket in India i.e. BCCI. It is presided over by Mr. Sharad Pawar and Mr. Niranjan Shah is its Secretary. BCCI is responsible for taking all the decisions about matches in India. The members of the general body, which includes members of state cricket associations, elect the president and secretary of BCCI. This is the ultimate law making body and is also responsible for appointing coaches of Indian Cricket team. It represents India in International Cricket arena. It is the major contributor of revenues to ICC as it is one of the richest crickets governing body of the world.


Cricket Grounds

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India has many world-class cricket grounds such as Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Mohali Cricket Ground and many more.

• Eden Gardens: This oldest cricket ground of India is situated in Kolkata. It was built in 1864 and has the capacity of 90,000. It hosted its first test match in January 1934 when India played against England. The first ODI was played on 18th February 1987 where India fought against Pakistan and the last One Day International was played on 25th November 2005 between India and South Africa. It is the finest cricket ground of India and is known as the Lord's of Asia. It is a dream ground for any of the cricket player.
  
  
• Wankhede Stadium: It is named after S.K. Wankhede, politician, secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association. It was inaugurated in 1974 and can accommodate 45,000 people in it. The test match between India and West Indies in January 1975 was the first test match to be played upon this ground. The first ODI played on this ground was between India and Sri Lanka on 17th January 1987. The stadium has been a mute witness to many spectacular performances especially the one by Ravi Shastri when he hit six sixes on six balls of Tilak Raj of Baroda en route to becoming the first ever Indian to achieve such a marvelous feat.
  
  
• Feroz Shah Kotla: This stadium, established in 1883, was also known as Willingdon Pavilion. It is situated in Delhi and has derived its name from the name of one of the rulers of Tughlaq dynasty - Feroz Shah Tughlaq. He ruled Delhi from 1351 to 1388. The stadium has seen many spectacular feats. The most important one was by Anil Kumble when he took 10 wickets in one inning against Pakistan in 1999. And the second was the record tenth wicket partnership of 109 runs between Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed. The stadium has another record to its credit - It is the first stadium to hold the test match between India and West Indies after independence.
  
  
• Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali: The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium also known as Mohali Cricket Stadium held its inaugural one-day match between India and South Africa on 22nd November 1993. The stadium was host to its first test match in December 1994. This is a world-class stadium and boasts of being one of the most spectator friendly stadiums of India.

Some other important test grounds of India are:

• Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
• Baraboume Stadium, Mumbai
• Gandhi Stadium, Jalandhar
• Green Park Stadium, Kanpur
• Gymkhana Ground, Mumbai
• K.D.Singh 'Babu' Stadium, Lucknow
• Lal Bahadur Shastr Stadium, Hyderabad
• M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
• MA. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
• Nehru Stadium, Chennai
• Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
• Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
• Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh
• University Ground, Lucknow
• Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur

Apart from these world-class stadiums there are some grounds, which are not fit for test matches but they cater to ODIs. These include:

• Barkatulla Khan Stadium, Jodhpur
• Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior
• Gandhi Sports Complex Ground, Amritsar
• I.P.C.L. Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara
• Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada
• Indira Priyadarshini Stadium, Vishakhapatnam
• Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
• Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur
• Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot
• Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Patna
• Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara
• Nahar Singh Stadium, Faridabad
• Nehru Stadium, Margao
• Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
• Nehru Stadium,Indore
• Nehru Stadium, Kochi
• Nehru Stadium,Poona
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
• Sher-i-kashmir Stadium, Srinagar

Forms of Cricket

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All the three forms of cricket viz Test cricket, One-Day Internationals and the most recent inclusion Twenty20 are played in India. Among all these forms test cricket is the oldest one and was the only form of cricket known to India and the world till 1970. The test cricket, though a slow game compared to the ODIs, has its own charm. Even today it has its own spectators. On the other hand one-day internationals have more fan following in India, as it is faster and more interesting form of the game. In today's busy life people want everything to be quick and they cannot wait for results for five long days and want it to be declared on the very first day, which is offered by ODI. Apart from these two forms, which are now considered to be the standard forms of the game there is one more form Twenty20, which is slowly gaining ground in India. It is a short spanned but interesting game.

In India cricket is played mainly on two levels one is the national level and the other one is the domestic front. The national team plays International Cricket with other nations of the world and there are many tournaments such as World Cup, Asia Cup, Hero Honda Trophy, Champions Trophy and many more. In domestic cricket there are not as much tournaments as there are in international game but they are important in their own way as these domestic games help selectors to choose[r2] budding talented cricketers for the national team. The important domestic tournaments are:

• Ranji Trophy: Known as the "Cricket Championship of India" this domestic tournament was started in 1933-34 and its first fixtures were played in 1934-35. The tournament derived its name from one of the earliest cricket player of India Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of Nawanagar. In this tournament there are teams representing almost all the states of India but some states like Maharashtra have more than one team and some states do not have even one. It also includes some teams like railways and services representing armed force of India. Various teams in this game are grouped into zones and they play league matches within their zone and the top teams then compete with the teams of other zones in the national knockout stage.
  
  
• Duleep Trophy: This trophy was started by the BCCI in the year 1961-62. As Ranji Trophy was becoming a bit predictable with Bombay zone winning the trophy each time, BCCI thought of some other platform where players from other states can also find appreciation. They founded the Duleep trophy. The format of Duleep trophy is almost similar to Ranji trophy. One team from each zone play teams from other zones in knockout stages.
  
  
• Irani Trophy: This tournament started in 1959-60 marked the silver jubilee of Ranji Trophy. The tournament gained its name from the member of BCCI, late Mr.Z.R. Irani. He was one of the pioneer members of the board and was associated with it from its inception to his death in 1970. The tournament is very popular among domestic cricket fans and is a competitive platform for budding cricketers.

National Level

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There is only one national level cricket team of India. This team comprises the talented cricketers selected from various domestic teams. They represent India in the international cricket. The present Indian national cricket team is a mixture of young talent and experience. Talented youngsters include MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, and Harbhajan Singh whereas the experienced ones are Rahul Dravid(Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly,and Anil Kumble. Though all the members of team are important but the most important one is the captain. The history of Indian cricket is full of list of such names.


Indian ODI Capatians

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India at World Cup

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Cricket Legends

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Cricket is not the national game of our country and it arrived in India in early 20th century. But still India has many names in cricket history to be proud of. Many cricketers in India achieved spectacular feats and became the source of inspiration for the coming generations. They are the names that fan across the country and the world such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Bishen Singh Bedi, CK Nayudu, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Anil Kumble.

• Sunil Manohar Gavaskar: This batsman of high caliber was born on 10th July 1949. He is also known as "Sunny". He has played a pivotal role in taking Indian cricket to the international standards.
  He made his test debut in 1971 against West Indies. In that series India saw trailer of his abilities when he smashed 774 runs in the series. His knock helped India to win the series at the home ground of opponent. He was the first cricketer to achieve the mammoth goal of 10,000 Test runs. He also broke Sir Don Bradman's record of 29 test centuries and set a new record of 34 test centuries, which was recently broken by Sachin Tendulkar. He was also the captain of Indian team in late 70s and early 80s. His record as a captain is a mixed one. He was one of the best opener India had in its history. He was the first batsman of India who dominated the world with his confidence and technical ability and was able to break the shackles of inferiority complex, which many of Indian players faced after independence. In his career Gavaskar played 125 test matches and scored 10,122 runs, he was one of the few batsman who can stand West Indies' bowlers. In fact he was the only batsman of the world with the average of 70.20 in the Caribbean country. For his contribution to Indian cricket Gavaskar has been awarded Padnma Bhushan by the Indian Government. He was also "Wisden Cricketer of the Year" in 1980, an honor conferred on chosen few. He retired from active cricket in 1987 and is now associated with cricket in the form of commentator.
  
  
• Sachin Tendulkar: Second only to Sir Don Bradman this best batsman of the present day was born on 24th April 1973. His genius can be imagined by just one remark made by best bowler of the world, Shane Warne. He said, "There is Sachin and then there is daylight". It is the best line to describe him, as nothing could be more appraising for a batsman than the appraisal by the best bowler of the world. But he does not need all such words, as his records are enough to credit him with the title of 'Master Blaster'.
  
  Some important facts:
  • Right handed batsman
  • Bowls right arm leg break, right arm off break, right arm medium.
  • Played 135 tests scored 10,668 runs with a batting average of 54.71.
  • Played 374 ODIs, scoring 14,537 runs and has batting average of 44.05.
  • Has 35 test centuries and 40 ODI centuries to his credit.
  • His best is 248 not out in test and 186 not out in one-day internationals.
  • Has taken 37 wickets in tests and 143 in ODIs.
  
  
• Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj: "The Indian Cricketer of the Century", he is the only captain of India who led Indian team to the World Cup victory. This all rounder is known by nickname of "Haryana hurricane" due to his fierce playing style. He made his international cricket debut in 1978-79 against Pakistan in Faisalabad. In 1994 he became the first highest wicket taker in the world. He said goodbye to cricket in 1994 and returned to it as the Coach of Indian team from 1999 to 2000.
  
  Some important facts:
  • Right handed batsman
  • Right handed fast medium bowler
  • Played 131 tests in which he scored 5,248 with an average of 31.05.
  • Has 225 ODIs to his record with 3,783 runs and an average of 23.79.
  • Has 434 test wickets in his name with the bowling average of 29.64.
  • In ODIs 253 players became victims of his bowling.
  • Took 5 wickets in an inning 23 times.
  
  
• Bishan Singh Bedi: He was born on 25th September 1946. He made his test debut on 31st December 1967 against West Indies in Kolkata and played his first ODI on 13th July 1974 against England in Leeds. He was the spearhead of Indian bowling attack along with bowlers like Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar. His last test match was against England in 1979 and he played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in June 1979.
  
  Some important facts:
  • Right handed batsman
  • Slow left-arm orthodox bowler.
  • Played 61 tests with total of 656 runs.
  • Took 266 test wickets.
  • Took 5 wickets in an inning 14 times.
  
  
• CK Nayudu: His full name was Cottari Kannakaiya Nayudu. He was born on 31st October 1895. He was the first captain of Indian cricket team. Though in his time Indian team could not achieve any victory but he was pioneer in making cricket a popular sport in the country. He made his debut in first class cricket in 1916. His cricket career lasted till 1958. He died on 14th November 1967 in Indore.
  
  Some important facts:
  • Right-handed batsman.
  • Right -arm slow medium bowler.
  • Played 207 first class matches and scored 11,825 runs with the batting average of 35.94.
  • Played 7 tests and has 350 runs to his credit. In tests he has the batting average of 25.
  • His top score is 200 in first class cricket and 81 in test cricket.

Women's Arena

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Cricket is no more the domain of men. Women of India are equally enthusiastic about cricket this is evident from the fact that they are playing cricket since 1976-77. They made their debut against West Indies. Though initially they were not as successful but slowly and steadily they mastered the tactics of the game. The Indian women cricket team did not participate in the World Cup of 1973. In the next World Cup of 1978, 1982 and 1993 they were at fourth position. In the World Cup of 1997 and 2000 they reached Semi finals. In the recent World Cup of 2005 they were runner up. The Indian women's cricket team is the proud winner of Asia Cup of 2004 and 2005.

Records on hold : The women's team has highest test total of 467-v England and highest ODI total of 298/2-v West Indies.

• The record for highest individual total of 214 for India is registered in the name of Mithali Raj and Jaya Sharma has made highest 138 runs in ODI cricket.
• Neetu David has shown the best bowling performance in test cricket with 8/53 against England.
• The record for best bowling performance in ODIs is in the name of Mamatha Maben with 6/10 against Sri Lanka.

Present - Future

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Currently Indian cricket teams both men's and women's are doing well but they are not the best in the world. Men's team has got sixth position in ICC rating. Indian cricket team can be world's no. 1 team. It has the caliber. There is not dearth of talent in Indian team we have some of the best batsman of the world such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh. On the same hand we are also not lacking in bowling action. Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth add to the Indian talent. Most important of all, the captain of the team Rahul Dravid, is the most dependable person. He has earned the sobriquet of "Indian cricket wall "due to his reliable play. He is the one who can be expected to stick to the pitch in the time of need. He has the highest test batting average among Indian players. Indian team in his leadership can achieve any target. India has all the ingredients required for being the best. With all this talent in its kitty Indian team is expected to bring the World Cup 2007 to the country and we hope that the expectations of the Indian fans get fulfilled and India once again become Cricket Champion of the world.


Last Updated : June 27, 2019