People in India enjoy watching, playing, and betting on different sports, but in general, cricket is the most popular game there. Almost everyone has a favorite player, and children can play it on the streets too. Indians simply love this sport because it simple, and the rules are easy to understand. That’s why even the kids can play it, and entertain themselves. Another interesting thing is that it doesn’t require a big stadium to be played, even though in India there is at least one in every state.
Maybe you are asking why don’t they play football or basketball. There is a strong reason for that, that is related to the physical strength of the people there. The weather is usually very hot, and their physical appearance is different than the people in the USA for example. Some Indians can get too tired, so they choose cricket, which requires more knowledge, intelligence, and focus, instead of physical strength.
That means, Indians also love to bet and gamble on this sport, and they are pretty successful with that. If you are interested to learn more about sports betting there, check sites here and see how they are doing that. According to many sources, even though hockey is considered a national sport, people love cricket more, and many of them are ready to spend their money so they can bet on it. At the same time, they enjoy watching and playing football too, both American and European type (also known as soccer).
A brief history of cricket in India
Cricket is not the most expected sports to be seen around, but people in India simply love it, together with hockey, football, and badminton. A lot of them believe that the reason for that is to praise the colonial legacy from the past, knowing that India was part of the British monarchy, starting from 1858, until 1947. That’s not a very long period, but it’s enough for the people to embrace and adapt some British habits. In the UK, this sport was considered as a rich people activity. But, Indians have a different financial situation, and most people love it, no matter their wealth or society status.
They also take part of the Cricket World Cup, and they won it a couple of times. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t Indians who are good at tennis, gymnastics, cycling, and so on. They love the pool, snooker, and chess too.
Most of the sports were adopted during the British colonial years, and they stayed from the moment of independence, until now.
Another interesting fact is that cricket is also popular in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Just to compare the things, in the USA, people almost haven’t heard of it, or even if they did, they are not interested, because baseball and American football are more popular there. Even people in England have forgotten of it, until 2005, when they decided to prevent it from disappearing. But that never happened in India, because it stayed on a high level of popularity through the years.
Here are a few more reasons for that:
Simple rules and affordable
Almost every other game requires a professional approach and specific talents, but cricket is simple, easy, and doesn’t require investing in special clothes and footwear to be played. When the children grow up, they see how the other kids are playing it on the streets, so it comes naturally to them to love this sport a lot. That’s why there are a lot of amateur players, and many of them will become professional when they grow up. At the same time, they don’t need to invest in special equipment, but if they are good, they will anyway improve their overall performance on the field.
The infrastructure is letting them
In India, not everyone is lucky to be born in bigger cities. Knowing that the population there is huge, and the families have a lot of children, it’s normal for the older ones to be on the streets, or even a talented instructor to find them, and teach them how to play it. The infrastructure in the country is helping the citizens to promote this popular sport because they have enough conditions to play it and be good at it.
Less physical contact between the players
Is there anything better than that? The rest of the world needed a pandemic to happen so they can recognize the importance of being distanced and respecting personal space. But in India, knowing that is usually very hot, people are not really into close contacts and hugging, and cricket is an ideal sport for that. So, we can say they were believing in the benefits of social distancing before it was a thing all around the world.
Sports betting is becoming more and more popular
Betting isn’t something that is new in India, and even young people know how to bet on the streets. But, in recent years, the laws allowed them to seriously bet on their favorite local and global sports, and of course, cricket is still the most popular choice among them. That leads to turning their interest into money if they know how to recognize and predict the potential of every match. At the same time, the players are the most paid athletes in the country, and they can afford a more luxurious lifestyle compared to the rest of the population. But, even ordinary people can earn some additional money for their household if they know how to bet.
It seems like the people in India really love and appreciate this sport. As you can see from this article, there are a lot of reasons for that, but we believe that the British reign was the reason for them to adapt their habits and favorite things, and prevent some traditions from disappearing. And when it comes to cricket, they are doing that great. No matter where you are in the world, you can try watching some Indian league matches, to understand why they will always love this sport.
