IMPACT ON CRICKET IN INDIA AT ORGANISATION LEVEL

By Somnath Datta

We all know cricket has a massive fan following in India. Cricketers are treated as celebrities and cricket is celebrated like a festival. Cricket has changed many lives of aspiring players in the country. But cricket is not only limited at the domestic and national level. Cricket is being played also at the organizational level be it private sector or government sector.

In India different organizations in the private sector as well as the government sector organize cricket event every year to unleash the hidden talent of their employees. The largest government organization in India is Indian railways.

Indian railway has different sports teams which take part in the domestic level competition in the country. For example – the cricket team of railways have professional cricketers who are also their employees. They take part in the domestic competition every year organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Indian railways team has produced many players who have represented Indian team at the international level. SANJAY BANGAR, MURLI KARTIK, KARN SHARMA these are few names Indian railway has produced over the years. Sanjay Bangar who is the batting coach of Indian team has played for the railway team and has set many records for them. The next prominent name is Murli Kartik. He has also come through the ranks from the railway domestic team who went on to play  test cricket for the country. In the mid-2000s he was the best spinner in the country after the great ANIL KUMBLE and HARBHJAN SINGH and may be the best left arm spinner in his time.

Recently another player who played for the country is leg spinner KARN SHARMA who made his test debut in the test series  against Australia in 2014.

Cricket has a huge role to play in a country which is full of diversity in terms of culture, religion, language, life style; but there is something which brings everyone on the same page is cricket. Cricket at the organizational level is an idea initiated by the government for those who could not fulfill their dream of becoming a professional cricketer due to various adversities they had to face while growing up because they had to find a way of living.

It is an initiative trying to convey the message to people that age is just a number you can always fulfill your dream and do something which you are passionate about without worrying about the financial security. Thus, cricket has a big role to play at the organizational level.

(Somnath Datta is a post graduate journalism student at Indira School of Communication, Pune.)