On February 15, the Indian cricket team lined up to play against Pakistan. The match reportedly attracted around one billion viewers; to put that into context, almost one seventh of the human race tuned in to watch twenty two men throw a ball around for the best part of a day. Presumably, most of these people were from Pakistan and India. Given this enthusiasm for cricket, which seems to be inherent in the cultures of both of these countries, it must only be natural for the next generation of Indians and Pakistanis to be absolutely infatuated with the sport of cricket, right? Surprisingly, the answer to that question is actually much more unclear than expected.
There is evidence that cricket might not be the leading game in the continent for very long. Or at least it will grow much less hegemonic. This might seem impossible to imagine today. But I recall meeting elders in my family – true they were from my grandfather’s generation or older – who did not follow cricket at all. When some of these elders discussed any sports, they spoke of field hockey! It has been noted by some that the ‘cricket boomers’ were all born in the 1960s and 70s, and that many of them – people of my parents’ generation – are no longer as dedicated to this game as they once were.
What about the youth of the subcontinent? The current popularity of cricket might be deceptive: the youth is shifting steadily towards football.
Mushrooming institutions
Given the greater inroads of international TV channels and widening Internet access, the subcontinental youth seems to have an inclination towards more universally recognized sports, specifically football. Many factors other than Internet and international channels contribute to this lack of interest in cricket and increasing fondness for football. One especially prevalent cause is how the subcontinent has recently become a major target market for footballing institutions; footballing behemoths such as Manchester United, Liverpool F.C and F.C Barcelona have recently opened up academies in India and Pakistan with the primary aim evidently being to garner a larger fan base.
This general attempt to lure Pakistanis and Indians towards football has been corroborated by increased television rights for football; if one were to turn on a television in India right now, he or she would find that quite a significant proportion of sports channels air football matches regularly.
Simplicity Another major factor driving young Indians and Pakistanis away from cricket and towards football is the difference between the natures of the two sports. Football is all about the exhilaration experienced when scoring a last minute goal right into the bottom corner or when making a perfectly-timed last ditch slide tackle in the rain. Cricket, however, tends to appeal to our more mature instincts; it revolves around the mental battle between batsman and bowler and can certainly be labelled a far more intellectual sport than football.
That is not to say that people can be blamed for veering towards one sport or the other, but cricket is definitely not as simple as football is; as a matter of fact, it may be this simplicity that is the primary force pushing the youth , regardless of nationality, towards football.
Quick excitement
For the past three decades, cricket has been trying to streamline itself into providing more immediate viewer satisfaction. Note the metamorphosis of five days long ‘test’ matchers into one-dayers, and then into 20-overs slogging competitions. This acknowledges the fact that people have less time to spend and want quick excitement. But the very nature of cricket – where batsmen play one by one and at most a couple of fielders run after the ball – prevents it from providing the adrenaline charge of two teams of football players charging into each other, weaving across the field, attacking the opponent’s goal time and again over 90 minutes or so.
Cricket, I am afraid, might be on its way out for my generation.
