In a country of over a billion people, it is tough to be among the ‘Top 11’ of the country in any field. In cricket, the fight for every place in the eleven is much bigger and tougher than in any other sport in India. With thousands of youngsters aspiring to be cricketers, to break into the Indian team is no less than a miracle.
Every sport has dominance from the players of a few states. In football, players from the north-east dominate the eleven, badminton has more representation from Andhra and Haryana leads the way in wrestling. Is it so even in the case of cricket?
In this article, we take a look at the five states which have contributed the most number of one-day international players to the Indian team.
Maharashtra
The state of Maharashtra maintains its supremacy over everyone else and has contributed well over 20% (46) of the total number of players who have ever played one-day internationals (216) for India. However, the fact isn’t surprising if seen in the light of the history of the game in the country; cricket was first played in the city of Mumbai by the Parsis and Hindus alongside the Europeans.
The game of cricket then moved to other princely states and further beyond. Therefore, post-independence, most of the cricketers of the Indian team came from Maharashtra and more precisely, Bombay. From the days of India’s first ever ODI against England at Leeds in 1974, where five players out of the playing 11 were from Maharashtra, the state has constantly thrown up world class players.
From Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar to the modern duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, Maharashtra has never been short of noteworthy cricketers.
Karnataka
The southern state of Karnataka is another major contributor of international players for India. The state has, in recent years, become a grooming ground for India hopefuls, with players from Karnataka now a regular feature in the Indian team. Karnataka has contributed 22 players to the Indian one-day team.
Having graced the country with cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble in the past, Karnataka’s presence is prominent on the current Indian team with KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Manish Pandey the most prominent cricketers to represent India from the state. The state team has also dominated the domestic tournaments, having won the Ranji Trophy for two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014.
It’s most recent debutant in the one-day internationals have been opener KL Rahul and Karun Nair; making their debut in the same game, with both having proved their talent on the international stage.
Delhi
The capital of the country, Delhi, doesn’t fall far behind when it comes to producing quality one-day international players, with the small state contributing 22 ODI international players. While the stamp of Delhi is evident on men in blue is evident today with Captain Kohli, besides Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma; the fabulous opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, fondly known as ‘Jai-Viru’, also come from Delhi.
The magnitude of Delhi’s presence on the national team is understandable when one considers Delhi’s rise as one of the first metropolitan cities of the country, along with Mumbai. Cricket first proliferated in these urban elite colonies with the help of the Britishers, which further allowed Delhi to get a grasp of the game earlier.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu also figures among the top five exporters of players to India’s ODI team. Having given India 22 one-day international players, beginning from spinner Srinivas Venkatraghavan, who pushed the spin quartet of India to perform at their best, Ravichandran Ashwin has continued the state’s legacy of producing extraordinary spinners.
Tamil Nadu too, benefited from having Chennai, a colonial centre of power amongst its territory. The city, along with Mumbai for long remained the focal point of India’s cricketing world.
Although the state hasn’t produced a player worth note since Ashwin’s ascent, players like Murali Vijay and Dinesh Kartik have represented India in the recent past.
Punjab
The rice bowl of India, Punjab has been a key contributor to the cause of India’s ODI fortunes. From one of India’s first great spinners, Bishan Singh Bedi, Punjab has an enviously rich culture of cricketers.
Yuvraj Singh, who recently bettered his highest ODI score in a game against England, is one of the proud sons of the northern state. Mohinder Amaranth, belonging to the great Amarnath family, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, and Harbhajan Singh have been among the 19 cricketers that have so far made it to the Indian team from the state.
The most recent recruit from its assembly line is Gurkeerat Mann, who made his debut against Australia in early 2016.
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