On a personal note, I don’t really feel excited about watching cricket like I used to. Usually, the fever starts days before the match day, from consuming all the quirky promos on Neo Cricket, Star Sports, and Ten Sports to picking my own playing 11. On match days, there was always a mental countdown and a glance at the wall clock every half an hour until the coin was flipped in the air. Above all, the half-hour wait following the toss was also another struggle. 

It’s indeed a nostalgic echo. 

Now, it’s not the same anymore. Last night, India and Australia locked horns for the first T20I, and I wasn’t even aware until today. The cricket child in me wondered what went wrong. Even if I consider my age and the added responsibilities after college, it doesn’t add up. I remember watching India’s historic takeover at the Lord’s while slogging my late-night office work at home. 

Then I questioned Virat Kohli’s retirement from two formats, and it quickly reminded me of my father. He used to say that he stopped watching cricket following the Ganguly era. I was convinced that I had hit that age limit where cricket isn’t fun anymore. 

However, I wanted to know if anyone felt as I did. I know Kohli has a ton of fans, but do he have fans who will stop watching cricket after his retirement? Let me be honest, I didn’t engage in a quantitative study. I asked a few friends, and they too felt what I felt. And this is not enough to write. I searched online and found something interesting. 

It’s about the spectator turnout at the recently concluded India vs West Indies test series. There were multiple articles from the prominent news sites reporting on the empty stands in Ahmedabad and Delhi stadiums. Just imagine the level of emptiness in the biggest cricket stadium during an international test match. Former cricketer Akash Chopra went on air and suggested that the BCCI schedule matches in two-tier cities to pull more crowds. I am not really sure how it might work. But yeah, it sounded like a real concern. 

Rohit Sharma further solidified the fans’ lack of interest in Indian cricket when he pulled a massive crowd at a Mumbai gymkhana, where he smacked a few white balls. It immediately raised a lot of eyebrows. Rohit managed to pull a massive crowd for his practice while stadiums stood silent, waiting. 

This situation leads us to a big question: Has Indian cricket stopped producing superstars after the Ro-Ko era?

One might argue that a set of fans watches the sport for the love of it and not just as a mere superstar bandwagon. Well, there’s no denying that. While there are fans who truly love the game, there’s also a huge culture behind it. Cricket isn’t just another sport in India, but it’s something tied to national pride. At times, fans even say that cricketers are serving the nation. 

How did cricket manage to capture the minds of the Indian diaspora to this extent? Of course, the British brought the game here during the colonial period, but there’s another reason as well. 

During my recent chat with K.S. Ulhas, an Indian National Basketballer, and the first Indian to play professionally in Serbia, he revealed his perspective on why Indians love cricket more than any other sport. All the love goes to the 1983 World Cup victory. 

The underdog story of Kapil Dev’s men was etched deeply in everyone’s soul then, at least with the people who had access to television. Moreover, the lore was passed on to generations to follow. Most importantly, to keep the lore alive, the Indian team consistently produced superstars after 5 years. The arrival of Sachin Tendulkar, Azharuddin, and MS Dhoni. These stars shaped the team in front of the world against the legends like Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Ambrose, and many others.

This cultural phenomenon reached its peak when Virat Kohli entered the scene. The son of the soil not only carried an irresistible charm but also ruled the game with his bat. When Sachin’s hundred 100s seemed like an unbreakable record, Kohli shook that belief. He currently has 82 hundreds, with two years left for WC, he could even reach the 90s mark. 

Anyway, the man’s aggressive nature as captain broke the underdog image, and guess what did? The charisma had several by-products with a similar attitude joining the side. For instance, Abhimanyu Sharma and Tilak Varma can singlehandedly crush their opponents. Although it’s good for the team, there is a bigger issue. The spectators don’t have an underdog superstar to root for. 

Nevertheless, nothing is for certain. This is an opinion made purely based on the empty stands at the West Indies test series. Until there’s data for the television and digital platform viewership. 

We should take inspiration from the West. The Nielsen ratings, platform viewership of the NBA are publicly available, and the media houses often make comparisons on viewership. Sometimes, they conclude the sports star’s popularity around it.