OVER the past two decades, India’s ranking in world cricket moved up dramatically, both on and off the field. Mind you, this is not coincidental—these two developments are closely linked. A leisurely game associated with the English countryside became India’s favourite sport which on most days easily tops Bollywood blockbusters for television rating points. An important element of this transformation is the commercialisation of the sport. From a genteel, noble and aristocratic sport, cricket today has transformed into a more indigenised game—a noisy, brazen, and vivid commercial extravaganza catering to its biggest audience.
But don’t let the so-called purists fool you with the view that this takes away from the charm of cricket. It is not cricket’s quaint legacy of the Raj, but this sound and fury that has made cricket commercially successful and India the centre of world cricket.
Commerce made its entry into the sport in the seventies. Many will remember the first three cricket World Cups between 1975 and 1983 as the Prudential Cup, with the eponymous insurance firm being the sole sponsor of all one-day International matches hosted by the ICC. The Benson & Hedges trophy in Australia was among the most sought-after tournaments in the eighties. But it was not until 1996 when the first World Cup was co-hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka that the old Anglo-Australian axis that ruled World cricket was shaken.
This story is from the May 18, 2020 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 18, 2020 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle
The Thalaiva Factor
At atime when Bollywood Is churning out propagandist narratives, south cinema, too, has Stories to tell