- As you are aware, the game of cricket in India is extremely popular and needs no elaboration to further stress the obvious factor. That cricket is way above the popularity charts as compared to other sporting disciplines is a well-known fact too. Due credit should go to the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the way the sport has been marketed to reach nook and corner of the country. Scores of children of various age brackets patronizing the game are a common sight on the grounds, irrespective of the size. Of course, there is no dearth of interested children duly backed by their parents to take up the sport which has gained a huge following over the years.
PC: InsideSport Desk
- The unprecedented triumph in the 1983 50-over world cup by the Kapil Dev-led team completely transformed the cricketing landscape in India is a well-acknowledged fact too. As Indian cricket started acquiring even more prominence on the back of sheer support from the teeming millions, the rich vein of money pouring into the sport too skyrocketed beyond one’s imagination. The abridged version of the game viz. T20 cricket popularized by the Indian Premier League has acquired an unbelievable following in the last decade or so surpassing every expectation by a huge margin.
- The billions that are pouring into the sport just looking at the recently concluded television and digital media rights is not only eye-popping but also reflects the unmatched revenue generation potential of cricket. Mind you, these rights have even overtaken some of the most lucrative sporting disciplines in the world says something. None associated with the game are complaining though. Against this backdrop, apart from the international cricket engagements, the domestic scenario is gaining wider acceptance reasserting the eminence of the game across formats too should be a welcoming sign.
PC: Sanjeev Dandekar
- Scores of younger kids opting for cricket as a career option are on the rise thanks to the IPL raking in huge moolah. Needless to mention, the red-ball cricket is not only the purists’ delight but also is the preferred choice of the players who wish to excel in the traditional format as well. Thus, representing the country in the five-day Test cricket is the ultimate goal of every cricketer despite the shorter version enabling millions to be made without the pressures of the traditional format. As such, the Ranji Trophy domestic red-ball tournament is a huge platform looked up to by any budding Indian cricketer to showcase his latent talent.
- Therefore, the recently concluded Ranji Trophy final only further reasserts the supremacy of the red-ball cricket where the real test between the bat and the ball takes place. That Madhya Pradesh emerged the champions for the first time against the 41 times winners Mumbai goes to show how cricket has succeeded in gaining increasing popularity helping in incubating promising cricketers into potential match-winners. Unlike earlier times, the Ranji Trophy teams are no longer subsisting on meager allowances as the BCCI extends handsome remuneration to domestic players too. Of course, it greatly helps the cause of cricket if new domestic champions emerge by taming the well-established teams. Cricket enthusiasts are not complaining one bit.
