Cricket's First Traces In India

In the 18th century, East India Company set up trading ports on various coasts of India such as Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Their primary aim was to expand business operations. It can be said that cricket came to India with the East India Company. It was in 1721 when the first signs of cricket were seen in India. British sailors at Cambay port in Gujarat used to play among themselves as a form of recreation. These sailors were looked upon by the locals, who started imitating them and developed an interest in the game.

Calcutta Cricket Club was established in 1792. It was the first cricket club to be established in India. It is the same year when first signs of cricket were seen in Madras. However, it was only around 1825 when the game reached Bombay. Subsequently all the major ports started to develop into cricket hubs. These ports were later turned into presidencies in the British Raj.

And hence Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency and Calcutta Presidency became the places where cricket began to foster. But it was the Bombay Presidency that was the quickest to evolve and develop - mainly because of the Parsi community. But till now only the Europeans were playing the game while the native Indians looked from the outside. 1830’s is the period when Indians finally took up the game. The Indian sepoys of the regiment based in Sylhet (which is now in Bangladesh) were the first Indians to adopt cricket.

They played among themselves and with the British officers in the 1830’s. A report from the Indian Sporting magazine showered heaps of praise on the Indian soldiers for being more energetic in the game than their European counterparts. Soon, the sepoys in Barrackpore, Dum Dum, Agra and Cuttack embraced cricket enthusiastically. European officers were supportive too in encouraging the Indian sepoys in the game both as spectators and players. 

However, it was the Parsi community who saw a unique opportunity in cricket - to uplift themselves socially and economically. A community of fire-worshippers, Parsis were the first Indian community to embrace cricket devotedly. For two main reasons: First, their strong desire to strengthen ties with the British raj in anticipation of better trade opportunities. Second, to uplift themselves in the social hierarchy among the Indian communities. They lacked proper cricket equipment, had to play on poor and uncultivated turfs, and fight with other communities for the playground. The Parsis were determined and overcame all the hardships.

As more and more people started to play, the need was felt to coordinate and strengthen their efforts. This led to the formation of the Oriental Cricket Club in 1848. It was the first Indian cricket club (Calcutta cricket club, which happens to be the first club to be established in India in 1792, was founded by the British members). The Oriental cricket club, however, was founded by the Parsis and hence is regarded as the first Indian cricket club. This club was funded by the wealthy Parsi businessmen of that time.

It was however dissolved and replaced by the Young Zoroastrian Club in 1850. This clubs exists even today. Around 30 Parsi clubs were incorporated between 1850 and 1860 signifying the growth and rise of Parsi cricket. Seeing the tremendous growth of the sport among the Indians, Europeans established the Bombay Gymkhana in 1875. 

Membership of the club was limited to the white community only. The formation of these clubs and inter-club matches played a crucial role in spreading the game and strengthening existing talent to challenge the strong Europeans teams. The following year in 1876, a Parsee Cricket Club was established by a Parsi patron named Ardeshir Patel. This marked the beginning of elevation of Parsi cricket in India as it started to compete against strong European teams.

However, playing against the Europeans did not come easy for the Parsis. They were discriminated against on the basis of the color of their skin. Moreover, the Europeans were afraid to lose their superiority by playing against the native Indians whom they considered of inferior race. Parsis were adamant and they made cricket a vehicle to challenge this English mindset and authority. After many attempts by promoters of Parsi cricket, the European team competed in a match against the Parsi team in 1877 played at the Bombay Gymkhana ground. This match later became an annual event known as the Presidency Match.

The contest between Europeans and Parsis was later given the status of first-class match in 1892 and was further developed into a highly famous and controversial Pentangular tournament. The formation of Parsee cricket club in 1876 and the following match against the Europeans laid the foundation for the future tournaments and tours.

 The following years after 1877 were not productive for Parsi cricket as they were involved in an ugly land dispute with the Europeans. They had to fight against the use of the ground by European polo players. This fight for a place to play might seem trivial but it was a direct attack on the colonial authority.

This meant that Indians were finally starting to realize how they have been victimized in their own country. And cricket gave them a suitable platform to do so. After the dispute was settled, Parsi Gymkhana was established in 1885 which became the epicenter of Parsi cricket.

The land to the Gymkhana was allotted in 1877 on Kennedy sea face by a government resolution on the same terms which applied to Bombay Gymkhana. This revolt of reclaiming the cricket ground from the colonizers was led by the Parsi social reformer and the secretary of Persian Cricket Club, Shapoorjee Sorabjee. Ardeshir Patel, the patron who formed the Parsee cricket club earlier, arranged for the first Indian cricket team tour of Britain in 1886. It was an all Parsi team. 

This was done with the help of Charles Alcock who was the secretary of Surrey County Cricket club. The tour was affected by bad weather, injuries and poor performances as the team managed to win only one match and lost 19 out of the 28 they played. However, it was a matter of great pride that the tour was fully funded by the players themselves. Pherozeshah Mehta, an emerging political leader and an eminent Indian of that time, expressed his views on the eve of departure of the team

"As artists go to Italy to do homage to the great masters, as pilgrims go to Jerusalem to worship at a shrine, so now the Parsees are going to England to do homage to the English cricketers, to learn something of that noble and manly pastime in the very country which is its chosen home." 

His statement signifies the social and political importance of this tour as Indians were taking a next step in mastering the game.

Based on strong performances of Parsi cricketers against Bombay Gymkhana, another tour was organized in May 1888. It was led by supremely talented Pestonji Kanga and consisted of Parsi cricketers from clubs other than Parsee Cricket Club. This team did better than the team of 1886. They managed to win 8 and draw 11 out of the 31 matches they played. 

M.E. Pavri was the top performer picking up 170 wickets. In fact, Pavri has been referred to as the first great cricketer of India for his pioneering efforts and attention-grabbing performances. Though both the tours were not successful as expected, they provided great international exposure to the native Parsi gentlemen. Seeds of cultivation of cricket in India were sowed by the Parsi community and the teams that toured Britain.

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