United States of Cricket

This piece is dedicated to Cricket fans whose passion does not vary whether they are right there in the stadium, or like me, are timezones away from their home land. Being a fan takes effort, but it means everything to us. We are the breed that wakes up at ridiculous God-less hours, takes time off from work to watch games, have Cricket apps on our phones to stay connected and the first website we go to in the morning is Cricinfo! We are all over the place, in all corners of the world, but there is a string that ties us all.

We could be Residents or NRIs, North Indians or South Indians, village simpletons or shehri babus. There are many differences and many insignificant definitions that divide us. But when our team gets out on the field, we pray, laugh, cry and live in unison. We breathe as One. When our batters bat, and our bowlers bowl, we live each moment with them. With each other.

There is something connecting in the way our hearts are suspended together, pupils dilated, muscles contracted and lungs holding breath, as the ball flies off the bat and takes an eternity to reach its destiny of a catch or a six. When seconds stretch into minutes, and minutes into hours, and hours into a blink of an eye, we live each moment together. With each other.

So, is Cricket just a game for us?

I recall being a school boy and getting scolded by my Maa every time she found me after going missing in the morning. Yes, I would wake up at 4 to go practice, but it would take an incessant rant for me to stir on exam day. There is something romantic in a Dad explaining the rules of Cricket to a 3 year old, when the kid gets nothing, but simply gets excited because something happened that made his Dad and big brother jump up and down. The true happiness engages and connects like no Language could. From that moment, it somehow gets embedded in our DNAs. Emotions are stirred that we never knew existed. We become fans even before we understand the game. We too grow up and do age-defying jumps on the couch. We too hug our confused little ones.

It is a powerful thing. It moves us, engages us, drives us and makes us a part of something bigger than ourselves. For Expats, it connects us to our homelands like nothing else could.

Hell no, it is not just a game.

It is Cricket.