ABSTRACT

In the last twenty years, Indian cricket has been transformed. With the arrival of global television networks, mass-media coverage and multinational sponsors, cricket has become big business and India has become the economic driving force in the world game. For the first time a developing country has become a major player in the international sports arena.

This fully updated and revised edition of Mihir Bose's classic history is a unique account of the Indian cricket phenomenon. Drawing on a combination of extensive research and personal experience, Bose traces the development of the Indian game from its beginnings as a colonial pastime to its coming of age as a national passion and now a global commercial powerhouse. This illuminating study reveals Indian cricket's central place in modern India’s identity, culture and society.

Insightful, honest and challenging, Bose tackles the myths and controversies of Indian cricket. He considers the game in terms of race, caste, politics, national consciousness and ambition, money, celebrity and the media, evoking all the unpredictability, frustration and glory that is the magic of Indian cricket.

chapter 1|44 pages

India – whose India?

chapter 2|46 pages

Khel-khood as cricket

chapter 3|26 pages

Middle India and the cricket Raj

chapter 4|12 pages

The gully, the maidan and the mali

chapter 5|15 pages

An English sporting Eden in India

chapter 6|31 pages

Ranji's burden

chapter 7|27 pages

The besieged hero

chapter 8|20 pages

The Nawabi legend

chapter 9|8 pages

Vegetarians, fast bowlers and violence

chapter 10|12 pages

Gods and boys

chapter 11|19 pages

Shining India or poverty of ambition?

chapter 12|10 pages

My India, my England