Magic of cricket

Mihir Bose's A Maidan View is an updated and revised view of the classic study of Indian cricket.

A Maidan View: The Magic of Indian Cricket
Author: Mihir Bose
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Price: Rs 295
ISBN: 0143032178
Format: Paperback

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It has been said that whether one loves India or hates it, it is a country with an infinite capacity for surprise. The same can be said of the sport that permeates the very fabric of the country, dominating the public mind and causing euphoria and heartbreak in equal measure.

In A Maidan View: The Magic of Indian Cricket, Mihir Bose examines cricket's influence on India, from the unorganised beginnings to the widespread growth that has led to India becoming the commercial backbone of the sport worldwide. He explores the social factors that led to the game's development, from the early adoption by the princes and the Parsee community to the growth of the office teams that featured Test stars. According to Bose, the critical decision by Nehru to be a part of the Commonwealth after Independence ensured that cricket remained in India. The game was further fostered in the country by the nouveau riche taking to the sport as a symbol of their wealth, gully cricket with an assortment of ‘rules' and ‘fielders', and, more recently, the television-rights revolution of the 1990s.

Here are some old images from the book: