Cricket has become more popular than the national sports in many subcontinental countries. What do you think the reason behind this?
Undoubtedly, it would not be an exaggeration if we call cricket the most popular game in sub-continental countries because there is hardly any part in this region where cricket is not played and relished. Though every nation has its national sport like hockey in India, football in Brazil, yet cricket is gaining exceeding popularity especially in sub-continental countries; hereby, I will throw light on some of the possible reasons behind this phenomenon.
The predominant reason, why it became so popular among sub-continental nations is that the cricket was introduced in these countries by the British during the colonial period; so, every country became familiar with the rules and regulations of this game. Moreover, these developing nations tend to imitate the western culture, whether it is a style, language and sport. Mushrooming importance of English language worldwide is a convincing evidence of the fact that whatever was introduced by the English in their occupied countries still continue to be flourished.
Moving further, the sports like hockey, football and so on have limited international tournaments, whereas cricket has various events like ICC Cricket World Cup, Ashes Series, ICC World Twenty-20 and many more. Therefore, cricket gets a lot more media coverage than any other national game. As a result, everyone has a special affinity towards cricket and cricketers as well, especially youngsters who have a profound passion for this sport.
To recapitulate, above presented arguments clarify the fact that Cricket dominates the sports world, particularly in countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, which have gone through the influence of English culture during the English colonial era and where this sport is considered a part of national pride.