Street Cricket Culture in India: A Personal Journal Entry
Hi Folks!
Here I am with a fresh new article on my thoughts. Just random thoughts going down as blog posts for my journal.
I am very fond of cricket. I like playing it and even enjoy watching it. Being from India, we know the craze for cricket much better than any other country. Every other kid in India dreams of being Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, or Jasprit Bumrah.
And it’s not like guys just play for fun. Trust me, they are very serious about it even when they are playing on the streets. Every missed extra run or dropped catch would lead to big fights within the team, and yet that’s the beauty of cricket. You fight for every run and end up shaking hands and encouraging the opposition team for their good game.
I used to write articles on cricket, talking about the stats of players, their gameplay, and what a team could do to become better.
Ahh. I know I am not some specialist or professional, but everyone has their own perspective, and they have the right to share it as well.
And in India, at every other tea stall, you would hear people talking about cricket and sharing their thoughts on players and their performances. And if you sit and listen to them, you will really get some good knowledge about cricket and some good insights as well because they don’t talk complete nonsense every time.
Hahaha!
Now, diving into the current scenario of cricket, I feel cricket has changed for both the viewers as well as the players.
The introduction of shorter-format cricket, especially T20, brought a revolution to the game. It keeps people engaged and entertained. After a long, tiring day at the office, when you end it with some snacks and a good T20 match, it makes you feel good and even helps in managing your stress.
If we observe from a player’s perspective, previously, if a youngster dreamed of becoming a cricketer, it was very difficult for him/her to go through the entire funnel of performing in domestic cricket and then waiting for the right time to get a chance in the international team.
And that’s also the reason many players ended up leaving the game and choosing some other career path.
With this new trend of T20s and league games, it has raised hope among players of staying in the game and getting noticed when they perform well in the shorter format as well.
To be honest, it earns them a good amount of money too. Nowadays, players earn a handsome amount by just playing T20 cricket leagues, and that’s what makes the game more relevant as well.
We have heard parents saying, “Playing cricket won’t give you a living,” and now the scenario has changed. Many players are living a good life with that money.
But as we know, everything comes with a downside.
With this cyclone of T20 league cricket, somehow, the real cricket, which is TEST CRICKET, has gone far away.
Players don’t have the patience to play Test cricket, and Test cricket demands discipline. It’s not some 2–4 hour game; you need to be on the field for five days.
Patience plays a very important role here — the patience to stand at the crease and take it ball by ball as a batsman. The patience to keep bowling over after over in the right areas until you get that batsman out.
It’s difficult, and we are seeing this already.
Nowadays, Test cricket is not even being played for five days; it often ends much earlier.
I think for Test cricket, you need to choose players from domestic or county cricket because that’s where you will find the right players for this format.
You can’t pick up players who are performing in T20 leagues and make them make their Test debut. There is very little chance that the player would make it to the best level in Test cricket.
And to be honest, this format of the game deserves some respect.
But yeah, at the end of the day, every game has its positives and negatives, and it goes along with them.
As viewers, we need to enjoy cricket irrespective of the format. And yes, we also have the right to share our insights on the game as followers of the sport, and that’s completely fine.
I tried sharing another random thought on the sport I love the most, and yes, I will be glad to hear your views on the game you follow and love.
It’s always good to share and discuss. Everyone should do it often; it makes you feel lively.
That’s it for this thought. I’ll connect again with another thought in the next blog.
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