Cashing in on Cricket - Tracing the Political & Commercial Story of Indian Cricket

Origins of the Ranji Trophy in the Pre Independence Era

India’s premier domestic cricket tournament began in 1934 and was named after the Maharaja of Nawanagar (present day - Jamnagar, Gujarat) who is often regarded as one of the sport’s finest batsmen. Jam Saheb KS Ranjitsinh Vibhaji succeeded to the throne as Maharaja of Nawanagar in 1907 and was a fairly progressive ruler who brought substantial infrastructural development and other notions of modernization to his city. However, the origins of the name - “Ranji Trophy” can largely be attributed to the Maharaj’s flawless exhibition of skills on the cricket field.

In 1896, “Ranji” made his debut for England’s national cricket team against Australia and scored his maiden ton in the second innings. He went on to play a total of 15 test matches for England & was a first-team player for Sussex in the county format. His unorthodox approach and general flair facilitated the introduction of new strokes to the art of batting - some of which have now become indispensable to the sport of cricket (the back-foot defence, the leg glance & the late cut). His remarkable career in the sport perhaps inspired his kin & allowed for the legacy to continue. KS Ranjitsinh’s nephew - KS Duleepsinhji also did phenomenally well at cricket and eventually followed in his uncle’s footsteps by playing for England.

Despite the Maharaja’s immense impact on the sport of cricket, the “Ranji” Trophy was named after him only as a result of a long-standing feud between the Prince of Patiala & a minor royal from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Bhupinder Singh, the ambitious, strong headed & non-conformist son of the Maharaj of Patiala & Vizzy (the younger son of the king in Vizianagaram) were both trying to gain a significant hold over Indian cricket in the pre-independence era. Their quarrel had begun after the prince of Patiala had a falling out with the then viceroy of India & patron of the Indian cricket board - Lord Wellingdon, allowing Vizzy to step in & facilitate the organization of tours & tournaments across India & Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka).

In 1934, an unnamed domestic tournament for cricket had officially begun, and both the royals wanted to make one final effort to seize power over Indian Cricket. Bhupinder Singh had donated the winner’s trophy and proposed that the tournament be named after Ranjitsinghji, the infamous cricketing genius and the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. In response, Vizzy too donated a foreign made & gold plated trophy and argued that the tournament must be named after Lord Willingdon. The “Maharajkumar” (Vizzy) added to his arguments that “Ranji” didn’t do much for Indian cricket and even publicly admitted to him and his nephew being “English Cricketers”. This back & forth of committing resources and trying to get a hold over India’s cricketing matters came to rest when Vizzy’s team was outclassed on the field and suffered a dreaded defeat against Patiala’s counter-attacking squad which even included the likes of the legendary Indian all rounder - Lala Amarnath. The domestic tournament progressed to its finale, where Vizzy had to painstakingly watch Willingdon himself hand the “Ranji Trophy” to the triumphant side from Mumbai.

Indian cricket and the newly established “Ranji Trophy” had already felt the heat of political influence with a significant amount of its patronage coming from non-conformist royals & colonial executives. However, with independence on the horizon & a gradually improving national team led by captain - CK Nayudu, the idea of patriotism was soon going to be associated with cricket. Domestic cricket leagues such as the Ranji Trophy & the Cooch Behar trophy thus became of crucial importance to foster young talent and build a strong foundation for the sport’s future in the country.

Just for the Royals? - The First Innings of Domestic Cricket in India

With the national team taking shape under the captaincy of C.K Nayudu, cricket was gradually becoming a unifying force for the newly independent Indian nation. Although most of its control and patronage still lied with the royals from the country’s princely states. Without the financial backing and incremental support of these royals, cricket probably wouldn't have prospered into the “religion” it has become today. Prominent royal promoters of cricket include the likes of the Holkars from Indore, the Maharaja of Patiala & the rulers of Baroda & Jodhpur. The Cooch Behar dynasty also invested heavily towards promoting talent at the youth level and donated a trophy for a competition which first began in 1945. In 1987, the BCCI officially converted this championship named after the royals of Cooch Behar to India’s official under-19 first class cricket tournament.?

However, royal influence over the sport began to diminish post-independence and new stakeholders emerged in the form of industrial and corporate houses. With India becoming a democratic republic & princely states dwindling, cricket was about to become more inclusive & prominent than ever before.

Over the years, Bombay had become the capital of Indian cricket and even played host to the Pentangular Tournament till 1946. By then, the Ranji Trophy (backed by royals and other colonial patrons) had replaced the excitement and enthusiasm that its predecessors provided to the Indian cricket community. Following the dissolution of the Bombay Pentangular, the Ranji Trophy was decentralized & the knockout format was replaced by zonal leagues which built up towards the final. Local patriotism and support towards regional teams was growing and the 1956 reorganization of states furthered the cause. Gradually, the state or region’s cricket team became an embodiment of cultural pride.?

It is intriguing however, that even when new states were formed and granted new franchises of their own, the older teams were allowed to partake without any restrictions. Even if the political state they were originally meant to represent ceased to exist, the teams continued to participate in the tournament and have even won a substantial amount of silverware since then. This essentially meant that matchups between the “original teams” & their contemporaries were allowed to prosper despite the reorganization of political states; for instance - Baroda & Saurashtra were allowed to match up against a team representing “Gujarat”. In addition to this, there were also squads representing the Indian Railways & the Services.

In its entirety, Indian cricket had restructured and had finally become a nation-wide phenomenon. Slowly and steadily, firms such as the Tatas & Mafatlals started running their own cricket teams and paid salaries for players to not attend office and continue to develop their game. The public sector - including the State Bank of India & the Indian Railways started recruiting Ranji and test cricketers on their payroll. An increasing number of players started emerging from the Indian middle class as one’s cricketing skills had now become their ticket to securing a job in the public sector. According to a study by an Australian scholar - Richard Cashman, the level of education amongst the 143 capped Indian cricketers was remarkably high, with most of them being graduates. This meant that most cricketers stayed in the classroom to merely play in the inter-school Cooch Behar trophy or the Rohinton Baria inter-university championship. Assuming their performance & luck coincide, they were all perhaps wishing they could have a shot at making the Ranji Team or even more ambitiously - the Test team.

The Second Innings - From Underdogs to Giants

India cricket’s breakthrough moment certainly came after the underdog victory in ‘83. The Kapil Dev lead squad was predicted to bow out of the prestigious ODI World Cup in its early stages. As a matter of fact however, the triumphant Indian Cricket Team of 1983 sparked a new wave of symbolic assertion and more importantly the commercialization of the sport.

There was an evident shift in how the Indian market perceived the sport. It was no longer just a ticket to getting a public sector job; rather playing for the national team had now become an aspirational dream of most young adults in India. A newfound influx of corporate sponsorships and athlete led brand endorsements on television was certainly the new normal for the country. Television in particular propelled the reach of cricket in the Indian subcontinent as a whole. Broadcasts by Doordarshan (the state-run tele-network) had enabled millions of households to watch their team play around the world and achieve monumental success following the unforeseen victory in ‘83.

Marching on the back of fairly consistent success on the cricket pitch, the Indian cricket cohort and the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) started gaining significantly large revenues from ticket sales,licensing & broadcasting rights which came with a side of power and influence over cricketing matters of the entire world. Under the leadership of Jagmohan Dalmiya as secretary of the board, Indian Cricket began to thrive. He is often attributed with unlocking the game’s monetary potential & developing India’s infrastructure to host the ICC World Cup in a joint format with Pakistan & Sri Lanka back in the 90s. In addition to this, during his tenure India even advocated for Bangladesh to achieve test status.

After hosting multiple tournaments and achieving record-breaking viewership figures, the BCCI became the wealthiest and most dominant cricket board in the world. A fundamental amendment was made to the BCCI’s structure, which resulted in the Secretary becoming the most influential office bearer. Brand sponsorships & advertisements grew exponentially, and Indian cricketers such as Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid emerged as the most sought after individuals in the marketing media industry.

A Cash Cow Making New Royals?

Now in its ultimate form, the BCCI and Indian Cricket have almost become “bullies” of the sport. After the establishment of the colossal India Premier League in 2007, cricket has taken the form of “sportstainment”. To perfectly describe the IPL, Guha writes “A league where cricket met Bollywood and billionaires, creating a spectacle that was both dazzling and controversial.” in his book “A Corner of a Foreign Field”.?

The sheer magnitude of monetary returns from limited-overs cricket was enough to justify the idea of a commercially driven league such as the IPL. With cricketers getting paid more than ever; both on & off the field, cricket and its competitions became more about entertainment and less about the sport itself. The IPL and the BCCI have faced a ton of criticism which largely relates to the prioritization of entertainment over the integrity of the sport. While top cricketers have gone and become multimillionaires, there has been an increase in player-related scandals & betting or match-fixing instances.?

No disrespect to the talent and dedication of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma & other top stars of the modern generation, but the scale of monetary returns they have achieved over the years have far surpassed the wealth of India’s pioneer cricketing legends. Some might even say that Indian cricket is slowly transcending and perhaps creating a new cohort of “royals” who do not necessarily come from princely states & imperial dynasties, but have rather made their riches from perfecting their craft on the pitch and in the media studio.

From the royal beginnings of the game in India, cricket has now turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Taking shape throughout the nation’s history by imperial politics and societal culture, the sport has now surpassed the expectations of most critics - who had their fair share of doubts in the past. The Ranji Trophy laid the foundation for talent development and growth, the unforeseen victory at the World Cup in 1983 and the emergence of the IPL changed the perception of the sport from being an elitist to an inclusive community. Today, cricket in India is so much more than a game; it is an entertainment spectacle full of aspirations. It has, despite all the commercialization, flourished and produced more heroes, becoming very much a national obsession in the process.

References and Sources

Guha, R. (2013, November 30). The stars of Kathiawar. ESPNcricinfo. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ramchandra-guha-the-stars-of-kathiawar-694457

ESPN Digital Media Private Limited. (n.d.). Lala Amarnath Profile - Cricket Player India | Stats, records, video. ESPNcricinfo. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/lala-amarnath-26223

ESPN Digital Media Private Limited. (n.d.-a). KS Ranjitsinhji profile - Cricket Player England | Stats, records, video. ESPNcricinfo. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/ks-ranjitsinhji-19331?

Veera, S. V. (22 C.E., December 13). Origin story: How did the Ranji Trophy start and get its name? The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/origin-story-how-did-the-ranji-trophy-start-and-get-its-name-8321241/?

Guha, R. (2014). A corner of a foreign field: The Indian history of a British sport (New and revised ed.). Picador India.

https://www.penguin.co.in/book/a-corner-of-a-foreign-field/

The Magic of Indian Cricket by Mihir Bose | 9781134249237. (2006, April 18). https://www.perlego.com/book/1624468/the-magic-of-indian-cricket-cricket-and-society-in-india-pdf

Dixit, P. V. (n.d.). The Indian Premier League (IPL) And Its Transformative Impact On Indian Cricket: A Comprehensive Review Of Available Literature. Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences. https://doi.org/10.53555/sfs.v10i1.1627?

Devadiga, K. (2024, April 26). IPL's rise as a global economic powerhouse - ET Edge Insights. ET Edge Insights. https://etedge-insights.com/featured-insights/ipls-rise-as-a-global-economic-powerhouse

Parkin, B., & Noble, J. (2024, September 20). Can cricket replicate the success of the Indian Premier League? Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/5c0f75a2-9182-47e6-a527-194f5eac61b7?utm_source=chatgpt.com?