An assessment of the role of cricket in Indian life, outlining the complex relationships that existed between those who patronized, promoted, played and watched the game, illuminating India's colonial and post-colonial past.

Discusses social history of Indian cricket between 1780 and 1947. This title considers cricket as a derivative sport, creatively adapted to suit modern Indian socio-cultural needs, fulfil political imperatives and satisfy economic aspirations.

'?a very good book?' Outlook '? Boria Majumdar integrates the unfolding cricket story inextricably with that of the cultural/ political story within which the Indian game was and remains embedded. The empirical work is exhaustive, the interpretation well grounded?' Biblio