Television nurtured hope and ambition among players in small towns and even villages. In the past, to play for India, it helped enormously if one had grown up in a major city—where one had access to clubs, coaches and competitive leagues. Now, however, if one had the talent and the will, one could learn the techniques of batting and bowling from the television. The widening of the national team’s catchment is only one of the major changes in the ways cricket has been played, watched and perceived over the past twenty years. There have been profound changes in the economics of the game, and in how cricket relates to politics and culture. At the same time, India has emerged as the global centre of cricket, with its cricket board playing a decisive role in how the game is administered worldwide. Ramachandra Guha on the march of Indian cricket—now online.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:23:52 +0000
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