It’s that time of the year when cricket fans are at their busiest. The Indian Premier League just concluded in a nail-biting finale, and the ICC Cricket World Cup is just around the corner. With barely a breather between the two, cricket fans are going to be submerged waist deep into cricket content for some time to come.
Repeat telecasts, match highlights, commentary, expert analysis...there’s a lot to consume and keep up with. Traditional cricket coverage has always been dominated by cricket players and experts. But cricket fans in India are informal experts themselves, and their fandom knows no bounds. The Indian cricket fan is a force to reckon with.
Mandira Bedi, a diehard cricket fan, went on to become India’s first woman cricket anchor during the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2003. She infused the telecast with her personal glamour and style and pioneered a fashion trend in the process. By giving voice to the female Indian cricket fan, she paved the way for more women anchors to grace our screens. When sports journalist Mayanti Langer took over IPL coverage today, she decided to emulate Mandira’s attitude and showcase her own sense of style. Watch the two women talk about their experience in the video below.
Cricket has given a lot to its biggest fans, or better put, devotees. Sudhir Chaudhary is perhaps the most famous Indian cricket fan. He has been a fixture in home matches played by the Indian team for over a decade, his tricolour-painted body being a favourite of the cameras.
For Col Vembu Shankar, cricket filled a void left behind by his retirement from the Indian Army. Having taken pride in his uniform his entire career, Col Shankar found in cricket another uniform he could dedicate his life to.
With a body bathed in yellow, Sarvanan Hari is instantly recognisable as a super fan of the Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni. For him, the colour yellow represents his style, his lifestyle and his identity. Getting painted is a ritual he dedicates hours of life to before every match.
Super fans like Sudhir Chaudhary, Col Vembu Shankar and Sarvanan Hari are the ones who have elevated cricket to a religion in this country. Watch them talk about their passion in the video below.
In the fervour of the cricket season, it is only natural to find cricket in everything, even entertainment. Take, for example, the web series Sticky Wicket which is a humorous take on loyalty in the IPL fandom. It features diehard fans of rival IPL teams, who regularly end up in sticky situations. Saving the day are characters Ahsaas Duckworth and Kumar Lewis, who bring comic relief with their attempts to diffuse the tension. Watch the first episode of Sticky Wicket below.
In India, cricket fans wear their passion on their sleeves. With these series of videos, Myntra’s Fashion Your Sport campaign is training the spotlight on the cricket fans whose sense of fashion reflects their passion.
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This is a partnered post with Myntra.