Women’s World Cup: Cricket and Religion in India

Cricket has become a most visible corporate and upper middle-class game in India. It is also the most expensive game. More than any other game, the players, the billionaires, and politicians hang around cricket because the leisure class and the rich have made it a party and a home gossip game. It has established a serious interlink between Hindi cinema, cricket and political parties.

Though in India, cricket has a rural version called ‘chirragone’ in the Telugu-speaking region, which I played in my childhood in my village, the British colonial rulers introduced their own version of cricket to India. Now, it has become the most popular Commonwealth game.

Well-known British author George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), saw this game as that of fools, who have nothing else to do and have enough money to live on with, and plenty of leisure and seekers of eternal pleasure.

Shaw said: “Cricket is a game played by 11 fools and watched by 11,000 fools," indicating the game's perceived absurdity. Another well-known quote is his observation that "The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity".  

Perhaps by the end of 19th Century, secularism was sweeping the socio-political atmosphere of the United Kingdom and church attendance was gradually getting reduced. The rich and upper middle classes of any society need an anchor around which social gossip becomes necessary. Cricket emerged as that anchor of social gossip in Britain and gradually spread to other colonial countries.

Opposite Direction

In the present situation, cricket seems to be travelling in the opposite direction that Shaw’s Britain is going in. It is becoming a de-secularising game, as the new proponent of the game in India is the Right-wing Hindutva spiritual ideological force. This force has already de-secularised most of the rich and upper middle classes that sustain cricket.    

Cricket has become a Hindutva-tainted game, at least for now. Its promotion has become part of the vote and anti-minority weapon. From the Prime Minister to the streets, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists and Hindutva billionaires are treating the sport as a source of power politics and business advertisements.

During Congress rule and other party prime ministers’—Charan Singh, V.P Singh, Chandra Shekhar, HD Deve Gowda or I.K.Gujral – rule, this game was not so politicised. But the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP-RSS have turned the game into their own ideological game by following a method of politicised promotion. In the process, it has also done one good thing -- promoting women to play this game on par with men. Power also forces certain unexpected changes among the rulers, whatever be their ideological orientation.

Women’s World Cup

During the recent Women’s World Cup, the victorious Indian cricket team, while inspiring the nation, particularly young girls and women, religion was also made a tool to fan conflicting religious views through social media.  

The Prime Minister’s tweet on X after India won the match with Pakistan recently linked it to the India-Pakistan war and Operation Sindoor, giving it a political dimension. That created an opinion among the youth that cricket can be used for political and religious ends.  

Religious contentions around the game became more brazen after the Indian women’s team won in the World Cup semi-finals over the powerful Australian women’s team, when India’s Jemimah Rodrigues stated, "Firstly, I want to thank Jesus, because I couldn't do this on my own. I know he carried me through today”.

A young girl, who made 127 runs that defeated the mightiest women’s team of the world that won the same trophy for seven times, in a situation of emotional joy, using the name of Jesus, was turned into a communal social media frenzy by Right-wing forces. However, Jemimah’s religious childhood training and her using the name of Jesus, as a modern girl and cricketer, has implications for the secular environment of the game. Players, whatever be their religious belief, should be careful in the public domain.   

Taking spiritual symbols' names even in a fit of emotion in a country like India creates an environment of de-secularised discourse around the game. Quite surprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who interacted with the victorious women’s team when the nation’s eyes were on them, raised the issue of Deepti Sharma’ belief in Jai Sriram and Hanuman. This has a much more serious politicised religious implication.

Sport advances in a democratic, secular environment, not in a communal environment. Our schools and colleges must give opportunity to girls and boys without tagging sports to any religious ideology.  

It is one thing that players follow a faith in their personal life. One may go to Hindu temples, one may go to Church, one may go to Masjid or Vihar for personal spiritual fulfilment, but in the stadium or in the public discourse, religion should not be made a source of controversy.

It is true that the present regime in Delhi has consciously encouraged women players. Of course, with regard to wrestlers, it failed to address their harassment by the board chairman. Lot of dust was raised around it.

However, India lifting the Women's World Cup rekindled a new hope. The conscious promotion of girls in the realm of sports at the school level will certainly help in changing the status of women in every sphere of life.          

The writer is a political theorist, social activist and author. His latest book is the ‘Shudra Rebellion’. The views are personal.