If it is not being watched on TV, then it is being played all around the country of India. There are other sports that have gained popularity around India – basketball, football and wrestling to name three – but deep down, cricket is still the religion which possesses India’s heart.

Just like cricket, betting has become very popular within India and is growing massively, especially when it comes to betting on the outcomes of cricket itself. “Around 80-90% of all sports betting in India are towards Cricket at the moment,” say casino experts BestCasinoIndia talking about the popularity of betting on cricket. That highlights how beloved cricket really is in India. The question we’ll answer next is, why is it so popular?

It is easy to play

Cricket is not a high-maintenance sport, meaning you can just get to know the rules and you are in straight away. If you want to be a batter of course, you will need to have a few practice runs to see how productive you will be in that area, but really, anyone can swing a willow and have a decent go.

Many of the most popular cricket players for India actually got into playing by playing cricket in the street and gradually being noticed for their incredible talent. One major difference between street cricket and international and professional cricket is the ball used to play. Street cricket uses a tennis ball or a taped ball, whereas professional cricket will use a leather ball specially made for the purpose.

Some of the world’s best cricketers come from India

India’s professional cricket team is composed of some of the best players in the world, while names such as Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar are among the greatest there have been. If you are a lover of cricket, these names will be no stranger to you at all. Within India, their names will always pop up within conversation.

In India, it’s the best batsmen that children base their dreams around. For many years, children will gather around TVs and wonder in awe of the amazing talent that they see from their countrymen. Even after a match, there will be huge discussions analysing each and every memorable event within the match, reliving each moment and making a family gathering and day out of the international matches.

The Indian Premier League

After India won the inaugural T20 World Cup, the IPL was created by the BCCI. The T20 league is now the most prestigious domestic competition in the world, celebrated all around India. The sport has been taken by storm since its unveil with the highest of standards. Many of the most admired Bollywood stars show up and support their favoured team, as well as making a day out of it too. It has been said that Bollywood plan their release calendar around cricket, as they know if they collide two dates together, they will be washed out by the hype of the national sport. The IPL has managed to expand their playing centres all around India, to make the league get bigger and bigger by the year.

Victory at ICC tournaments

The final reason why cricket is so popular is the success of the Indian cricket team during ICC global competitions. Winning the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011 are treasured moments of the community. Indians want to see the same success again, with even more memorable moments.

India also managed to make the T20 World Cup their own in the year 2007. With each and every win, India seems to come back with even better form and enthusiasm. Sport is always about being entertained, is it not? That is exactly what you get each time from watching the Indian cricket team.