By Joey Ari
You must know of at least one person who is a die-hard cricket fan and obsesses over the game. There isn’t just one in India; millions of people eat, live, and breathe cricket. We are die-hard cricket fans, and evidence shows that India alone accounts for 90 percent of the world’s 1 billion cricket fans. Some Indians have even dedicated a temple to their favorite cricketer. Sudhir Kumar Chaudhry is a cricket fan who travels around India by bicycle to attend the cricket match. When he attends the matches, he paints his body with a tricolor and Tendulkar’s name on his chest and even skips sleep at night to keep the paint fresh.
How did Indians become so infatuated with cricket?
Cricket first arrived in India during the reign of the Britishers. Cricket became popular in India in the 1920s, and local Indian teams were formed. There were several protests against the ban on cricket during independence. However, when India defeated the former colonizers at their own game in 1971, it changed the face of cricket forever. Men only played it for many years because it was introduced to us as a sport by English men, and the belief that cricket was a man’s game was widespread. On the other hand, our female cricket team defies expectations and performs admirably today.
Cricket is a popular sport in stadiums, parks, and on the streets, known as “Gully cricket.” Some of the most powerful cricketers, such as M.S. Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, began their careers with gully cricket, serving as an inspiration to aspiring cricketers. India is fortunate enough to have some of the best cricket players globally, who have made us proud on numerous occasions.
In 2003 when England introduced a short 20-over version of the game called Twenty20 to grab the non-cricket fans’ attention, India won the first-ever twenty20 world cup in 2007, and in 2008 IPL was born that became extremely popular, and people would come from all over the world to watch a live IPL match.
The IPL is another reason for cricket’s enormous popularity.
The IPL is a cricket festival that takes place all over the world. The stadium is filled with colorful merchandise, a mix of Indian and international cricket fans chanting the names of their favorite teams, celebrities cheering on their teams, etc. But unfortunately, watching an IPL live is still a pipe dream for many cricket fans.
Thanks to the IPL live app, one can now watch all of the IPL matches on their phone. In addition, the app provides live scores, extensive commentary, highlights, breaking news, exclusive interviews, and other features.
With the IPL app, you can watch live IPL matches and cheer on your favorite team while on the go.
We even have films depicted on the life of cricketers like M.S. Dhoni, Sachin, a billion dreams, 83, and so on.
The men’s cricket team has garnered all the attention, but even our women’s cricket team, known as “Women in Blue,” has reached the world cup finals and semi-finals.
Let us pledge never to let this cricket fever ever cool down.
