ABSTRACT
India has had a rich history of sports and games. As a British colony, India was introduced to the sport of cricket, and today, the Indian cricket team is the best in the world. Cricket dominates the Indian sport market. Hockey, although the national sport of India, still fails to gather the same hype and success which cricketenjoys. The Indian sport development structure was rather disorganised until the BCCI, the body governing cricket in India launched the Indian Premier League, which initiated league culture in India and provided a model for other sports. With the organisation of more sport leagues, the standard of Indian sport and its elite athletes has grown considerably. This chapter essentially tries to answer questions like how the term “sport development” took shape in India. Which events and initiatives have boosted sport development? It also tries to understand and predict how the industry will grow in the future and anticipate further challenges involved in sport development in India. It will also show how these various elements have together shaped the Indian sport economy and boosted sport development.
