In the 50s, playing for Bombay was almost as difficult as playing for India. There were times – six to be exact — when as many as seven cricketers in the Indian cricket team between 1952 and 1955-56 were from Bombay.
Cricket then was largely a sport played and patronised by princes and businessmen in urban centres. Cities like Bombay (now Mumbai), Bangalore (now Bengarulu), Madras (now Chennai), Baroda, Hyderabad, Delhi used to pull in talented cricketers from everywhere.
So in the little window when Bombay wasn’t dominating – they have won 40 Ranji Trophy championships and been in 44 of the 68 Finals – the mantle would be taken up by Delhi or Karnataka. The smaller teams just didn’t have a chance to make a mark.
Between the 80s and 90s, Mumbai continued to dominate Indian cricket. Between 1980 and 1990 – eight cricketers (Ravi Shastri, Chandrakant Pandit, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Manjrekar, Lalchand Rajput, Salil Ankola, Sachin Tendulkar) from Mumbai made their India debuts. This was in addition to the stellar presence of Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar.
There have also been instances where Karnataka, in the 90s, dominated Indian cricket in much the same way. Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi were all part of the same team.
The last time Mumbai had five players in the same Indian team was in 2006 with Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Powar and Rohit Sharma. But times have changed and how.
When the Indian team for the fourth ODI between India and Zimbabwe, the best represented team was Saurashtra with three players – Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Jaydev Unadkat. Haryana came in second best and even though this is a second string squad, the make-up of the main squad is pretty varied as well.
As Rahul Dravid had said in the Bradman Oration in 2011: “In this last decade, the Indian team represents more than ever before, the country we come from – of people from vastly different cultures, who speak different languages, follow different religions, belong to all classes of society. I went around our dressing room to work out how many languages could be spoken in there and the number I have arrived at is: 15 including Shona and Akrikaans.”
“Most foreign captains, I think, would baulk at the idea. But, when I led India, I enjoyed it, I marvelled at the range of difference and the ability of people from so many different backgrounds to share a dressing room, to accept, accommodate and respect that difference. In a world growing more insular, that is a precious quality to acquire, because it stays for life and helps you understand people better, understand the significance of the other.”
A total of 49 players have made their international debut for India in last 10 years (since July 2003). Out of them 30 also played Test cricket, while remaining 19 played for India in ODIs / Twenty20 Internationals. Delhi has been producing the ‘big’ players of late — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan — but the other states are getting their act together too.
The statewise break-up if anything confirms the progress that India is making as a cricketing nation. It shows that cricket is taking root even in states that would have previously been considered as the backwaters.
(Note: The table has been made on the basis of a player representing the state just before making his India debut. The fact that he may have played for a different state earlier in his domestic career does not have any impact whatsoever. For example, Munaf Patel started his domestic career with Mumbai, but he was representing Maharashtra when he got an India call. So, he has been considered a Maharashtra player and not a Mumbai player.)
