History of Cricket in India

Cricket is the unofficial national sport of India, and its development has been
closely tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political
and cultural developments around issues such as race, caste, religion and
nationality. Though cricket is indubitably the most popular sport in India, it is
not the nation's national sport (a distinction held by field hockey).
Cricket, like field hockey, was first introduced to India by the British. The
earliest recorded match was played in 17211 by British sailors on shore
leave. With the expansion of British rule throughout the subcontinent, the
British took the game with them wherever they went. However, the early
history of the game was focused largely on the large cities, particularly
Bombay (now Mumbai).

Beginning in 1892, an annual match was played between the Parsis and the
Europeans. In 1907, this became a triangular tournament with the Hindus
fielding a team, and in 1912 a Muslim team entered what was for twenty
years the biggest tournament in Indiathe Bombay Quadrangular. The first
Indians to play the game at a high level were the Parsi minority in Bombay.

Among the biggest stars in the early years of Indian cricket were the four
Palwankar brothers, Shivram, Ganpat and Vithal but particularly the slow left-
arm bowler, Palwankar Baloo. This was particularly noteworthy as the
Palwankars were from one of the untouchable castes. Treated as equals on
the cricket field, off-field they often faced discrimination. This changed
slowly; however, Palwankar Vithal did eventually captain the Hindu team in
the quadrangular.
The formation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1929 led to a first
Test match with England three years later. In 1935, the Ranji Trophy began;
it continues to the present as the leading regional tournament in India, with
each state fielding a team. The trophy was a deliberate attempt to avoid the
communalism of the quadrangular tournament.

The Indian cricket team has won one Cricket World Cup, in 1983. India also
reached the finals in 2003, but lost to Australia. In recent years, Indian
cricket has been marked by the intense and occasionally violent rivalry with
Pakistan. Furthermore, there were several scandals related to match fixing
and gambling, but these were not restricted to India; they plagued several
different teams.
International cricket in India generally does not follow a fixed pattern like, for
example, the English schedule under which the nation tours other countries
during winter and plays at home during the summer. Generally, there has
recently been a tendency to play more one-day matches than Test matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, headquartered
at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the
apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as
BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the
Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. It often uses government-owned
stadiums across the country at a nominal annual rent. It is a "private club
consortium". Basically to become a member of a state-level association, one
need to be introduced by another member and also pay an annual fee. The
state-level clubs select their representatives (secretaries) who in turn select
the BCCI officials. BCCI are not required to make their balance sheets public.
In the past, tax exemptions were granted to BCCI on the grounds as
promoting cricket was a charitable activity but since 3 year due to IPL that
stand has come into question.

As a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), it has the authority to

select players, umpires and officials to participate in international events and
exercises total control over them. Without its recognition, no competitive
cricket involving BCCI-contracted Indian players can be hosted within or
outside the country.