Cricket and Politics: Controversies and News

Cricket is a globally renowned sport, cherished and played by numerous countries around the world. Over the years, the international cricket council has been committed to promoting the sport’s growth and ensuring its presence in every nation. In recent times, European countries such as Italy, Netherlands, and Denmark have begun displaying an increasing interest in cricket. This gradual development has primarily occurred in countries capable of investing in the game and eventually participating in ICC tournaments. Nevertheless, the political inclination toward cricket significantly impacts its progress and development.

Cricket took a global space with the gradual colonization of British Colonies across the world. During the 16th century, the sport was widely played by Whites in Australia and England but eventually in the 18th century, India choose to play the sport to win against the Britishers and their colonization practices. Since the beginning of time, Cricket and Politics have gone hand-in-hand and they both have influenced each other at different points in History.

Cricket is religion in India

In India, Cricket is not only a sport, it is celebrated as a religion with fans considering Indian cricketers as their Gods. Thousands of young cricketers get inspired every year and dream of joining the national team but only a few get successful in turning that dream into reality. A lot of factors are involved when it comes to the selection of players for the national team.

There have been times when cricketers in India have been overlooked because they were not connected politically or they had no contact with an influential individual. In India, if a youngster wants to make it to the national team, he needs to be exceptionally talented to go through the chain of selection and showcase dominant performance in domestic cricket. One needs to be in the headlines with his performance and maybe then, the player might be able to crack it and make it to the senior squad.

Cricket has become a crucial part of Indian culture and all the top players in the past have come to the national squad with the help of their immense talent and hard work. In India, domestic cricket holds huge importance for the selection of quality players. An individual has to play First-Class cricket and domestic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Indian Premier League and maybe after that, considering his performance, the player might get his Blue jersey. However, sometimes, the process gets too tiring and that’s when an individual uses other ways to make it big. It is a proven fact that Talent can take you to a point where the real hard work will start to pay off. However, to reach that point, with Talent, one needs to have an immense amount of patients in Indian cricket and that is because of the system which is designed to select the best players.

There have been incidents in the past where a player has made it to the senior team but has failed to survive and disappeared. Politics will play a part in the selection of an individual for a bigger platform but after a point, if you don’t have talent, you won’t be able to survive in international cricket. Indian cricket produces a large talent pool every year and the competition is tough in the field. For every position in the team, there is a long queue of players who have performed exceptionally well in domestic cricket. Even if an individual uses his connections to make it to the senior team, he won’t be able to handle the pressure to perform against his teammates.