UK's King Charles met the visiting Indian Men’s and Women’s cricket teams, coaching staff and BCCI leaders at Clarence House on July 15. / X/@HCI_London

In 2000, Nelson Mandela lauded the impact of sports in the world during the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards, saying that “it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does”.

It’s no accident that sporting events like the winter and summer Olympic games, the FIFA World Cup, and many others are behemoths to humanity in their ability to inspire and bring hope to every corner of the world. But they also are important to fostering both new and longstanding bilateral relationships between countries. Among those friendships is the one between Great Britain and India, thanks to the intrinsically confusing, but forever beloved game of cricket. 

Cricket originated in Britain, and its roots go back to the latter half of the 16th century. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Lord’s Cricket Ground in North London is popularly regarded as “the home of cricket”! The game would eventually arrive in India through the East India Company, an erstwhile British mercantilist trading giant. At the time, the introduction of cricket had another more sinister objective, which was to reinforce colonial rule and hegemonic order, while creating a distinction between the British rulers and the “uncivilised” peoples who were to be colonised and suppressed.

With time, however, many in India took up cricket as a favourite pastime. India’s Parsi community (also known as Zoroastrians), most of whom live in Bombay, is considered a pioneer in the growth of cricket in India, due to their relative closeness to British culture and tastes. This would continue even as India won its independence from British rule in 1947. It was after this seismic event that change would become more noticeable over the subsequent decades. 

Madras, in southern India, became the location of India’s first test win in 1952, which was against England. India would tour England later in the year for their first tour to Britain since winning its independence. As India played more tests, the quality and talent in the side improved exponentially, and so did the balance of power between the 2 nations. India has won a total of 3 test series in England (1971, 1986, and 2007), and its premier Cricket World Cup victory under the leadership of all-rounder Kapil Dev in 1983 at Lord’s is now considered as a revolutionary milestone in Indian cricket. 

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In the past few decades, India’s growing power has been treated with more respect and importance in the UK, and nowhere is it seen more than in the sheer competitiveness and dominance in cricket. The just-concluded drawn test series between the two nations is a recent example, where there was virtually no difference between Shubman Gill’s relatively young Indian side and the Ben Stokes/Brendon McCullum led “Bazball” brilliance. A large portion of the spectators supporting India were British Indians, the most successful ethnic group in the country and a key bridge between the two nations and cultures. 

Where in years bygone the authority and influence of older cricket playing nations like England and Australia would have gone mostly unchallenged, now India is the most powerful cricketing nation, with an endless pipeline of talent. The Indian Premier League (IPL), for all its

flaws, is one of the most watched domestic sporting leagues in the world, rivaling many sporting tournaments across the globe. The number of English players involved is tantamount to there being more off-field relationships between cricketers of India and England. A byproduct of the growing partnership is the massive financial stake now visible in England's domestic circuit. Many Indian cricketers have taken part in the County Championship, the first class domestic circuit of England and Wales, to gain vital experience of playing in foreign conditions. 

But we also see cricket entering into the diplomatic and political circles. Whether it’s former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attending an IPL final or Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoking the sport to describe UK-India relations, both countries’ leaders undoubtedly recognize the potential for cricket to nurture and sweeten the longstanding relationship. 

It goes without saying that the world we live in may feel as though it’s in deep peril, with economic crises, wars, climate change, and political divisions. Yet there is a truly magical feeling of happiness and unity that sport can bring to those of all persuasions. In the same spirit, the mesmerising sport of cricket has further enhanced the friendship between United Kingdom and India, which already spans many other areas such as trade, culture, healthcare, and various transnational and security issues. With that, we have seen a straight drive down the ground for four runs.

The author is a cricket enthusiast having played the sport at a local level.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)