Played by masses, Cricket is the most popular sport in India. Cricket doesn’t need any introduction in the country as, everyone have their own opinions for the game despite their ages. A sport which is though played with a bat and ball but here in India it involves emotions, desires and a means of earnings. The sport is out of the age or class barrier. Its success is clear from its popularity. Everyone in the country is fond of the game. Started in India in 1932 cricket is popular in every house, as people even watch it in offices at time of a crucial match or world cup. Moreover, it provides livelihood to gamblers who try their luck in the matches.
The present scenario is that despite being the oldest, very less population is aware of the fact that, Hockey is said to be the national game of India. The popularity somehow resulted to a one-sided craze and attraction for the sport in comparison to other sports which are included in Olympics but have not gained much popularity and crowd in the nation. The game is not only seen as a sport in India but, it is also known as a religion in the country. Many times the prevalence of this ‘godly game’ is been highlighted in various forms. With this, what strikes first is the book of novelist Anuja Chauhan, ‘The Zoya Factor.’ It was written by her in 2008 which tells the story of Zoya Solanki, who being a cricket-hater became a lucky charm for the Indian team. Along with it, there have been different movies like Lagaan, Iqbal, etc. which again highlights cricket. Despite being a country with various sports, cricket craze is dramatic.
However, things are now getting changed. There has been evolution in the mindset of people. They have now stepped out of the cricket zone. Now, one is even opting sports like tennis, basketball, chess, etc. badminton has now become the third most popular game in the country after cricket and football. Hockey is again gaining importance. The increased popularity resulted to an injustice with the other games which even being more fun and challenging lacked audience. One of the reasons behind it even states that Indian cricket is not only taken as a sport but a means of cold war against other countries they are playing with, say when India is playing against Pakistan.
There are different initiatives for increasing the popularity of other sports and make it popular. There are leagues organized like, pro kabaddi league, tennis league, football leagues, etc. These measures have improved the conditions a lot and now India is not only known for its cricket and cricket players. Now, Indian badminton and Tennis stars are ranked among top athletes in the world. Thus, the conditions of other sports are now far better than before and they are improving day by day. They have started gaining their places irrespective of cricket, the most popular game in India.