History of Cricket in India
Being England’s national summer sport, Cricket is now played throughout the world. It is the most beloved sport in India. Millions of lovers tune in on TV, watching local matches, or playing it themselves every year. Today, betting fanatics also started cricket betting online on mobile. Thanks to the technological advancements and introduction of a large number of sports betting sites.
The cricket origin took place in the 16th Century during the Dark Ages in Northern Europe. As per a few historical literature pieces, the sports were created during Saxon or Norman times by kids residing in the Weald. It is a location that lies in South East England. The first reference to Cricket being played as an adult sport was in 1611.
Did you know the game took four centuries to reach India? Britishers brought Cricket to India in the 17th century. Let’s dive into the more details of Indian Cricket history.
Early History (1700 – 1918)
The journey of Cricket in India started when the British East India Miners and soldiers brought it to Indian shores around the 16th century. It was naturally introduced to India as India was a massive part of the British Empire until 1947 after WW2.
It is believed that the British sailors played the first cricket test match in India in 1721. It is when the group of British traders compete against
each other in Kutch. After a few years, it was being played all across the nation. The first Indians to take an interest in the sport was the Parsis.
It was in Bombay that Indians first started to play the sport. In Bombay, the Parsi community took on Eton Ramblers and created the Oriental Cricket Club in 1848 and subsequently the Parsi Cricket Club.
After slow beginnings, the Europeans eventually invited the Parsi’s to play a match in 1877. The OOC was invited to play in Europe. After this, new teams started emerging in India. Because the equipment was costly and in a small amount, Indians used to cast-offs from the European Club, Bombay.
Cricket’s popularity started to rise amongst Indians when Indians like Sir Duleep Singh Ji and Sir Ranjit Singh Ji started playing the sport for the English cricket team in 1900. By 1912, people of every religion played quadrangular tournaments with Europeans every year.
Test Match Status (1918 – 1970)
Indian was invited to the Imperial Cricket Council in 1926. After being granted the cricket test match status in 1932, India started creating competitions to include more players and teams.
After a great Test match appearance against Pakistan and NZ, princes from India collaborated together to craft the Ranji trophy in 1935. It was named after the Prince of Nawanagar, Sir Ranjitsinhji. Besides this, BCCI also created the Irani trophy.
India hosted the first official Test match in 1932. But it would not get success on the international stage until 1952. It is where the Indian national team conquered England at Madras in a test match. In the same year, they also triumphed in the first test series against Pakistan.
Indian Cricket team continually strived hard and won against NZ in 1956. On 24 Aug 1959, India lost innings in the test against England. They conquered the first test match against England in 1961- 1962. They also triumphed its first test series against NZ in 1967- 1968.
The success of One-Day Cricket and ICC World Cup (1970 – 1985)
With the introduction of 1-Day Internationals in 1971, India had adjusted their typically defensive-style strategies to the attacking ones. In 1983, India defeated the West Indies in the third official ICC Cricket World Cup. In 1984, India got the Asia Cup and World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1895.
Late 20th Century (1985 – 2000)
The addition of Anil Kumble and Sachin in 1989 and 1990 improved the team a lot. It has added some new faces during this time. The Cricket team of India continually showed amazing performances in 2000.
21st Century (2000 – Present)
Indian team faces vast improvements under the guidance of Sourav Ganguly. The country maintained the home test series record against Australia after getting success in 2001. From 2003 to 2004, India played a series in Australia where they got a draw with 1-1 with the world champions. In 2004, India got defeated in the home test series against Australia.
In 2005, India got the win over Sri Lanka. Indian team won the ODI series in Pakistan in early 2006. The early 2007 period has seen the return of Ganguly and the introduction of new faces. The new team won the first 20-20 Cricket World Cup in 2007.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India took advantage of the growing popularity of the 2020 format in 2008 by creating their own cricket premier league in India.
In 2012, India faced a challenging transition period. It is the first time the Indian team has been beaten by England at home from 1984 to 1985. But in 2013, the Indian Cricket team got back to its track. In 2013, India beat the Australians in the seven-match ODI. The country failed to reach the Asia Cup finals in 2014. In 2016, India won the 2016 Asia Cup. It is where the grand home season started for India.
2017 saw eight consecutive wins for the test series. At the beginning of 2019, Australia triumphed in the T20I series. It’s marked the first home defeat of Virat Kohli in the T20I series. At present, Kohli is one of the successful captains and batsmen in the history of Indian Cricket.
Conclusion
Cricket was one of the most successful inventions in history. It is considered to be a religion in India. Although rooted in the heart of the country, it did not originate in India. There are no proven theories about the origin of Cricket in India. However, as Britishers ruled in India, you can call the sport their legacy.
Throughout the 20th and into the beginning 21st Century, India produced tons of iconic players. Few of them are most beloved and considered the best in the entire cricket history. It includes Kapil Dev and Sachin.