A Few Thoughts On CricketÐ'...

Cricket, not snake charmers and elephants, is the most common sight in India. Go where you will or want, there will always be a narrow street nearby, chock full of a group of enthusiastic boys, of all ages and descriptions, playing cricket with remarkable energy and passion. Little boys who are only just bigger than the bats they bravely hold, teenagers attempting to play in the manner of the national cricketers they watch and admire, grown men whose love for the game has never waned Ð'- such are the people that play the game of cricket in India. And it is their spirit of enthusiasm, passion and competitiveness that symbolizes the essence of cricket. Cricket is a great unifier in a country that is unimaginably diverse, with over a hundred distinct languages and thousands of dialects, with more religions than can be counted on one's fingers, with different traditions and so on. Cricket is a bit like glue Ð'- it draws various people with differing backgrounds and merges them in one spectacular collage.

People are often amazed and perplexed by this passion for a game in a country with a population of more than one billion people. It would be incorrect to say that the entire country watches one sport, but it would be fairly accurate to say that at least around three hundred million people follow and watch the game, which in itself is a huge number. Opinions abound regarding its popularity. Some say with a learned air about them, that it is the seminal event of India winning the World Cup in 1983 that sparked the interest in people's minds. Some argue that it is the media focus and television coverage that made it such a popular sport. Yet a few others suggest, somewhat deprecatingly, that it is the only sport in which India has a truly international performance. And there are some, bless them, that simply believe that it is the innate grace and beauty of the game that draws people in flocks. Maybe there is no single reason, no single formula like E = mc2, to say, "Voila! This is why cricket is so popular in India".

Is this passion for a game native to India alone, I had wondered many a time. After coming here, and after seeing the following that various team games have, like the enjoyable college football, the gladiatorial NFL games, picture-perfect NBA games and so on, that doubt has been happily set to rest. And with a little reflection, the conclusion is inescapable Ð'- the attraction of any team sport is the same everywhere: each player attempting to give his best to the team to make it a winner. This is the true appeal of any team game Ð'- be it soccer, American football, baseball or cricket.

I also had wondered whether I would see cricket being played here. I need not have worried. Get a bunch of Indians together and they will somehow play the game. All that cricket demands is a bat (apparently, a few had the fore-sight to bring them from India), a cricket ball (never mind a cricket ball, a tennis ball taped around would do just as well), three stumps and a clutch of enthusiastic fellows. The basketball court is quickly turned into a pitch, two teams are formed and the fun begins. Of course, there aren't any spectators, but then who plays for audiences except those who play for money? And happily enough, cricket's appeal is not restricted to Indians alone. Pakistanis too are equally enthusiastic about cricket, and sometimes, I suspect, more enthusiastic. Pakistanis and Indians are the major contributors to the formation of a cricket league in Dallas, with well-formed teams playing cricket on a regular basis during the cricket season. Here, the cricket is played properly, with the correct attire, with proper equipment, with the correct balance of bowlers and batsmen in a team and wherein all the laws of the game are observed. A lot of effort and planning goes into organizing these matches, unlike the ones students play here, because teams essentially comprise men of business and