Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians: The On and Off the Field Story of Cricket in India and Beyond

by Boria Majumdar

Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians goes deep into every Indian cricket tour since 1886—taking the reader backstage to when India played its first test in 1932, and bringing the story forward to the more contemporary IPL—to provide a complex and nuanced understanding of the evolution and maturity of the game.     Equally, it comes with material that has have never entered the public domain so far—going behind the scenes of cases like Monkeygate, the suspension of Lalit Modi, spot-fixing, and the phase of judicial intervention. It carries not just reportage and analysis, but also player reminiscences, personal interviews, photographs and letters never known or discussed so far in Indian sporting discourse.     Weaving together such material, Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians unflinchingly confronts questions that demand answering, among Has internal bickering impacted the on field performance of the Indian cricket team? Did some of our icons fail the country and the sport by trying to conceal important facts during the spot-fixing investigation? And does it matter to the ordinary fan who heads the BCCI as long as there is transparency and accountability in the system?     In the end, in telling the story of the role of cricket in colonial and post-colonial Indian life, and the inter-relationship between those who patronize, promote, play and view the sport. Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians unravels the story of a nation now considered the financial nerve centre of world cricket.  

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

450 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2018

About the author

Boria Majumdar, a Rhodes scholar, is a Research Fellow at La Trobe University, Melbourne. He has taught at the Universities of Chicago and Toronto and has written extensively on the history and politics of cricket in India and across the world. Deputy Executive Academic Editor of the International Journal of History of Sport and Executive Academic Editor of Sport in Society, he is General Editor of the Routledge Series, 'Sport in the Global Society'. Some of his books include Twenty-Two Yards to Freedom: A Social History of Indian Cricket (2004), Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation (2006) and The Illustrated History of Indian Cricket (2006).

Reviews

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boria Majumdar is a competent historian and the theme he chooses - interplay of cricket and politics through Indian history- is also interesting. But the author falters in coming up with a template to deal with the multiple stories. He covers Kolkata 2001 and the next chapter is on how Sepoy cricket moulded nationalism in 1850s. There are chapters on Ranjitsinhji and Lala Amarnath sandwiched between World cup 2011 and Kohli's new India. Majumdar is the head priest who has exclusive access to all the Gods alluded to in the title but the prayer he sings could have been more coherent and structured.

[Kaustubh Dudhane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bradman played a sport. Tendulkar was the presiding deity of a nationally-unifying religion called cricket."



This book is an enigma to me. There were absolutely brilliant passages and chapters in the books. On the contrary, there were extremely boring topics as well. I have felt that the major reason behind is the amount of detailing that Boria has done for each and every chapter of the book. Some of the beautiful topics were -

1) Indian Sepoys and their ties to cricket in 1830s and 1840s.

2) Social Life and Debt Crisis of K.S. Ranjitsinhji in Britain



3) India's debut Test



4) Ugly saga between Maharajkumar of Vizianagram and his un-princely treatment of a great legend C.K. Nayudu




Moreover, I had enjoyed the pieces on India's away Test Series victories in West Indies and England in 1971 and Australia in 2018-19. The best thing was Boria refrained from writing match reports and captured the essence and the emotions of the tour.



Moreover, I have enjoyed the way Boria has written about India being a ODI powerhouse as well.



However, the major turnoff for me was the sincere effort of the author for being objective all the time. Trust me! It was not needed at all. Hence, the writing appears like that in a research paper rather than an entertaining cricket book of chronicles. This book can serve a purpose for any research project like any area like obstruction of implementation of Lodha Committee Reforms, bootlicking of British officers by Indian Royalty in the pre-independence era, scheming of various political powers with BCCI, bullying of ICC by BCCI and many more.

Overall, an honest attempt but lacks in entertainment!

[Venky · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the typical Indian, cricket is the metaphor that signifies the machinations of everyday life; a metaphysical avenue for compensating personal and professional inadequacies and more than anything else a magnet whose inescapable lure may, at the most be resisted but never overcome. Cricket is escapism; cricket is assurance; cricket is the all-encompassing panacea that brooks no opposition or defiance. And it this very essence that is captured in an exhilarating manner by Mr.Boria Majumdar in his engaging work “Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians…. (“the book).

Mr. Majumdar, drawing on his enviable bank of experience and exposure, courtesy the powerful medium of journalism, has produced a work of candour, catharsis and clamor. Covering almost every single series, both home and away (with a few notable exceptions which would be elucidated later) that has seen the Indian cricket team in action, Mr. Majumdar, alternatively, takes us atop peaks of delight and pushes us down the precipices of doom warning us in the process to inculcate a sense of Rudyard Kipling’s immortal equanimity! Suffice it to say it becomes a Herculean task to preserve a sense of equability, considering the fact that a majority of readers perusing the work constitute Indian cricket fans whose USP denotes a sense of fickleness, and who put to sword the cardinal maxim ‘method is the mother of memory’.

From the pernicious evil that is match fixing to the penchant induced by the erstwhile Pentangular cricket tournament that had its fair share of devotees and detractors alike, Mr. Majumdar, crafts the evolution of Indian cricket with panache and painstaking detail. The meticulous research done by Mr. Majumdar appropriates every page of his work as nothing is left to chance. For instance, in recounting the acrimonious tussle between one of the iconic Indian cricketers, Lala Amarnath and an obstinate member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”), Stanislaus Ignatius D’Mello, Mr. Majumdar has ploughed deeper than an earthworm in digging out archival evidence in the form of written remonstrations exchanged by the warring protagonists.

One of the most exhilarating chapters in Mr. Majumdar’ s work deals with the insidious, insouciant and inappropriate behavior of the BCCI when embroiled in a roiling controversy involving spot fixing in the IPL. Portraying an attitude of a remorseless Caesar, BCCI and its supremo N. Srinivasan, paid scant heed to the findings of the three member Lodha Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the invidious inner maneuvers of cricketers conniving with bookies that lead to infamy, ignominy and the eventual arrest of three Indian cricketers, including the double World Cup winning player, S. Sreesanth. As Mr. Majumdar, queries in an unbiased and impartial manner, were these three cricketers made to don the garb of scapegoats to save the careers of other ‘respectable’ and iconic cricketers? For why else has an envelope embedding thirteen names been confined to the chambers of the highest decision making Apex body in the country, the Supreme Court without being disclosed in the open to the citizens of the nation?

The exponential growth and self-perpetuating success of the Indian Premier League (“IPL”) is recalled in vivid and persuasive detail by Mr. Majumdar. Inextricably linked with the IPL is the tumultuous story of the man behind the very concept, Mr. Lalit Modi. The hubris of Lalit Modi that transformed him from a man once hailed as the pioneer behind world cricket’s most exciting variant, to ultimately being reviled as a veritable Pariah, makes for some phenomenal reading. The fact that Lalit Modi still spews venom on social media while being a designated ‘fugitive’ in London epitomizes the proportions taken by cricket in India, which is reminiscent of a Shakespearean tragedy. The IPL where novices, rookies and initiates rub shoulders with the proven, potentates and patriarchs, serves as both a scholastic setting for furthering careers as well as a breeding ground for luxury, expropriation and debauchery. It is for the participant to choose on which side of the fence he would like himself to be seen. An agnostic or a fence sitting choice is not on the anvil and is not an option.

But the one fact which warmed the cockles of my heart is the courageous treatment by Mr. Majumdar of the discrimination meted out to the Indian women’s cricket team by the administration, fans and media alike. The indomitable band of warriors led by Mithali Raj have never tasted applause, appropriation or adulation that has been the singular preserve of their male counterparts. However, things took a fortunate turn when Raj and her brave hearts made the finals of the women’s World Cup Tournament in 2017. In a pulsating final that had a billion Indians engrossed, energized and elevated, the Indian women lost by a meagre nine runs. The loss however did not dim the euphoria one single bit and as Mr. Majumdar elucidates in his book, when the Indian cricket team landed home at the ungodly hour of 2.30 A.M, they were greeted by an explosion of flash bulbs and a swarming horde of media personnel craving for some ‘breaking news’ sound bites. As Mithali Raj herself expressed, later, in a press conference, she had not experienced anything similar in the previous eighteen years of her playing career.

While Mr. Majumdar’ s book covers every conceivable and notable facet of the history of Indian cricket, both in the capacity of a reader as well as an incorrigible Indian cricket tragic, I feel the following could have been an essential part of this book:

The Sharjah cricket tournaments which marked the zenith of India-Pakistan rivalry and where denizens, deadly dons and a single year of ‘Desert Storm’ all assumed centre stage and where one single delivery involving Chetan Sharma of India and Javed Miandad of Pakistan cleaved the very sentiments of an entire sub-continent;

The epochal Benson & Hedges victory carved out by India in 1985 where in the final against Pakistan, an excited commentator (if my memory does not desert me), made a fascinating comment that alluded to “10 Hindus and a Muslim {India with Azharuddin in their midst} taking on 10 Muslims and a Hindu {Pakistan and Anil Dalpat}";

Indian cricketers having both memorable and macabre stints in English county cricket – Tendulkar and Dravid for Yorkshire and Kent respectively; Ganguly for Lancashire; Azhar for Derbyshire; Shastri for Glamorgan; Kapil for Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire; Pujara for Yokshire; Sunny Gavaskar for Somerset etc.

The prominence of Ranji Trophy and also its dark and regretful episodes such as Raman Lamba and Rashid Patel chasing each other armed with a stump and a bat across a cricket ground

The immortal Neville Cardus once said, “we remember not the scores and the results in after years; it is the men who remain in our minds, in our imagination”. A true cricket fan, irrespective of his allegiance or nationality would invariably love all things pure and pristine about cricket and Mr.Majumdar has exacerbated and accentuated this love with a work that will reverberate long after its covers have come down.

[Pallavi Kamat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers lots of anecdotes about the history and the politics around the game, from the time the British ruled over us to the present.

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you talk about Indians, anything that keeps everyone united are Cricket, Politics and Bollywood. And when it comes to Cricket, there is nothing that fascinates us anymore. Being a reader and a fan of Cricket, whenever I get to know that there’s a new book released on Cricket, I cannot stop myself in assuring that I get to read the book somehow. Last weekend I got my hands upon the book named “Eleven Gods And A Billion Indians” written by none other than the Cricket Expert and Scholar, Boria Majumdar, who is also known for assisting Sachin Tendulkar in writing his autobiography.



The tagline of the book says “The On and Off the field story of Cricket in India and Beyond”. Writing a book about the on-field happening is easy if you pick only the performances to discuss but it becomes very difficult and controversial when you decide to speak truth about few controversies that happened on the field. More over that, very few authors have enough knowledge to speak about the off-field events and those who know does not want to disclose the secrets behind the game and board that handled the game. Boria Majumdar has showed enough character in writing a book on such a topic and the way he has executed it is a level above all the other books written in such genre on specifically, Cricket.



The book starts with the most controversial subject on match-fixing and since then it is unstoppable as the author discusses on almost everything that has been a big question to us in all these years of our devotion such as how Indians started performing overseas, the controversy of Greg Chappell-Ganguly, Harbhajan-Symonds, the most recent one- Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble etc. Author then also discusses how Cricket earned initially when the television sets had come in India and how it has transformed itself into a mega-event where 20,000 crores are being shelved out for the five years of IPL rights. The BCCI and its stand on various issues are discussed so openly that I doubt anyone else would have spoken about this board so directly and specifically with directly taking names. The India’s win of both- 1983 and 2011 is also covered descriptively which will make you feel as if you are watching the match live.



The Part Four of the book discusses Ranji trophy specifically and the initial days of Cricket craze in our country. The Part Five is all about Virat Kohli and the current set of Cricketers and what we are looking ahead through them for this sports and the expectations that they have on their shoulders to fulfill. The Women Cricket Team is also discussed in the last chapter making it sure that they are also the future of Cricket in India considering their performance in the last World Cup where they reached Finale and ended up being Runner-Up. Sachin Tendulkar’s career is also discussed along with his last Test match which again makes you shed tears.



Reading this book, I was surprised and shocked to read various truth about the sport and wanted to hug Mr. Majumdar for writing such a strong book and having debateful takes on each important event that has happened in the world of Indian Cricket. He has never been biased towards any party throughout the book and I want to specifically point out the chapter on Kohli-Kumble saga where he has spoken very neutrally and made it clear that it’s not only the current aggressive players like Virat Kohli who are always wrong but it can be legends like Anil Kumble too. No inner person working with Cricket could have written about such detailings about big names so honestly. This book will always be named in one of the top books on Cricket. Kudos to Boria Majumdar. I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

[Rakhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truth is stranger than fiction. We watch too many movies and read numerous books but fail to see the thrilling reality around us. India is known as the land of cricket due to the unrelenting love and support we shower over the players but little do we bother about what's happening beyond the pavilion.Being a part of our life from the pre-independence times, cricket is always a relevant topic to write about.


Eleven Gods and Billion Indians is a sincere authentic and unadulterated account of the inside stories of cricket in India. Author has utilized the cordial relation he maintains with the cricket Gods and other related officials, by virtue of his profession, and weaved an anecdote of each event without any prejudice. The unbiased view of the author is the highlight of the book. We can see Ganguly-Chappel, Ganguly-Buchanan and Kohli-Kumble rifts. Author observes how cricket is the game of players while football is controlled by the coaches.


Author has done a detailed research for the book. In-spite of being privy of most of the incidents mentioned in the book, author chose to be maximum precise and that indeed is the highlight of the book.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads #Sports #Cricket

Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians: The On and Off the Field Story of Cricket in India and Beyond by Boria Majumdar is one of those books that hits you with the realisation that cricket in India is not just a sport, not just entertainment, but a living, breathing civilisational phenomenon.

When I read it in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, cricket had already become my escape from the uncertainty outside—IPL in bio-bubbles, reruns of old matches on television, endless debates on social media about Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit, or the ghosts of past legends. Into that atmosphere came Majumdar’s book, and it read like both a love letter and an autopsy of Indian cricket.

The “eleven gods” in the title refers, of course, to the players who step out to represent India on the field, carrying with them the burden and the blessing of a billion expectations. But the book’s brilliance lies in how it navigates beyond the obvious, peeling away the glamorous veneer of celebrity cricket and showing us the underbelly—politics, money, broadcasting, power struggles, and the evolution of fandom itself. It is part history, part reportage, part cultural critique, and wholly absorbing.

Majumdar writes with an insider’s access and an academic’s depth, which makes the book straddle two worlds. He traces how cricket moved from a colonial pastime to the national obsession that now dwarfs even cinema in terms of attention and passion.

The early chapters bring alive the cricketing culture of the 1970s and 80s, leading into the transformative moment of 1983, when Kapil’s Devils won the World Cup at Lord’s. That victory is rightly treated as a tectonic shift, not just in cricketing terms but in India’s sense of itself. But the author doesn’t just linger on nostalgia—he shows how that win, coupled with the rise of television, advertising, and eventually satellite broadcasting, altered the economics and psychology of cricket in India forever.

The book then pushes into the 1990s and 2000s, when Tendulkar emerged as a near-divine figure, embodying both the aspirations of a liberalising nation and the pressures of modern celebrity. Majumdar captures the paradox beautifully: Tendulkar as the “god” who was also achingly human, with failures, injuries, and moments of doubt, but who still managed to shoulder an impossible responsibility with grace.

Around him, the Indian team was undergoing its own transformation—moving from being charming underdogs to hardened competitors, especially under Ganguly’s aggressive captaincy and then Dhoni’s cool pragmatism. The shift in India’s cricketing culture—from meek acceptance to a refusal to be bullied—forms one of the book’s strongest threads.

Where the book really stands out is in its discussion of power, money, and control. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is shown not just as a sporting body but as a juggernaut of financial and political clout. Majumdar pulls no punches in detailing how administrators, broadcasters, and corporate sponsors reshaped the game, often prioritising profits over purity. The 2008 birth of the IPL is presented as both revolution and rupture. On the one hand, it democratised stardom, gave unknowns a shot at riches and recognition, and transformed cricket into a global spectacle of glitz and entertainment. On the other hand, it brought with it ethical quandaries, spot-fixing scandals, and a creeping sense of commercialisation that threatened to reduce the game to content. Majumdar balances admiration and critique here, refusing to give easy answers.

As I was reading it in 2021, during the eerie silence of lockdowns when stadiums were empty and players performed before giant cut-outs of cheering crowds, these chapters on the IPL and commercialisation felt eerily prescient. Cricket had become, more than ever, a spectacle mediated through screens, algorithms, and sponsors.

And yet, the book reminded me that beneath all of this—beneath the broadcast rights and the boardroom politics—lay a game that still had the power to unite a billion Indians in a single heartbeat. Majumdar never loses sight of the romance, even while charting the cynicism.

Another strength of the book lies in its global perspective. Majumdar shows how India’s rise as cricket’s economic epicentre changed the balance of power in the sport. Once dominated by England and Australia, the International Cricket Council (ICC) found itself increasingly at the mercy of Indian money and audiences.

This wasn’t just about cricket—it was about geopolitics, about how postcolonial India was asserting itself on the world stage through the unlikely vehicle of bat and ball. The book also touches upon the role of the Indian diaspora in sustaining this cricketing empire, from packed stadiums in the UK to roaring crowds in the Middle East. Cricket’s globalisation, in Majumdar’s telling, is inseparable from India’s story of globalisation.

But perhaps the most memorable sections are those that deal with the fans. The “billion Indians” of the title are not just passive spectators—they are active participants, shaping narratives, careers, and even the future of the game. From the frenzy outside Tendulkar’s home to the memes and hashtags that now dominate Twitter timelines, Majumdar tracks how fandom itself has evolved. The emotional investment is staggering—joy, grief, rage, all spilling into the public domain, making cricket a kind of mass emotional theatre. Reading these parts during the pandemic, when fans were physically absent from the stadiums, gave me a bittersweet pang. It reminded me of the sheer madness of a packed Eden Gardens or Wankhede, and how vital the fans are to making cricket what it is.

The book is not without its sobering notes. The darker side of cricket—match-fixing, corruption, exploitation, and the pressure that breaks young players—is given due space. Majumdar is clear-eyed about the costs of the game’s mass adoration, especially the way it consumes and discards talent at times. Yet, he never lapses into cynicism; instead, he insists that acknowledging these flaws is part of loving the game honestly.

By the time I finished the book, it felt like I had taken a journey across decades of cricket and across the many Indias that existed in those decades. It is a history, a commentary, and at times, a confession of obsession. Reading it in the strange, suspended world of 2021 made it even more powerful—when cricket was both a reminder of normalcy and an escape from reality, when watching a cover drive or a yorker felt like reclaiming joy in a bleak season.

Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians does not try to offer one definitive narrative of Indian cricket because that would be impossible. Instead, it offers a mosaic, showing us how cricket has become India’s most potent metaphor, a mirror in which we see both our pride and our flaws.

In the end, what stayed with me was not just the anecdotes or the analysis but the emotional truth: cricket in India is more than sport, more than business, and more than politics. It is a language, a faith, a theatre of dreams. And Majumdar, with his skill and sensitivity, manages to capture that sprawling, contradictory reality in a book that feels essential for anyone who has ever sat before a television screen, heart pounding, waiting for the next ball.

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 The title says "The On and Off the field story of cricket in India and Beyond". It should have been "The (mostly) Off the field story of cricket in India (and Bengal)."
The book begins with a section on coaches and the Ganguly-Chappell affair and to its credit explained this issue quite well. I think this was followed by the laughable multiple-captain experiment by John Buchanan and the Kohli-Kumble rift.
The second section is on match-fixing and again this was well-explained with a couple of problems. The author seemed too eager to believe the all-innocent portrayal of Azhar as in the movie. Also, it got dreary sometimes with a lot of names and details. This was followed by the spot-fixing scandal in IPL and the author covered it well to the Lodha committee and its recommendations. Dont remember if this was the section but finances of the board have been covered very well too.
The third one was on the World Cup victories of 1983 and 2011 and I enjoyed reading it. Also covered were how India bid for hosting the 1987, 1996 and 2011 world cups.
The fourth section was perhaps there just for the sake of it. The author dealt with the history of Indian cricket superficially and bored with his style. I recommend reading Rama Guha or Mihir Bose and just skimming through this section.
The short fifth section was again good to read on Kohli, particularly his captaincy and also on the Women's team.
So, this is a sometimes dreary, sometimes show-off, sometimes opinionated but mostly entertaining and informative read on the behind the scenes happenings of Indian cricket. I love reading books on Bollywood and sports (read cricket), especially while travelling or when I am busy professionally and this love often seeps into the rating I give to the books. Not this time though.
Firstly, the chapters seemed disjointed and there were even entire chapters which were *yawn* and irrelevant. Secondly, he has chosen to publish entire letters verbatim in some chapters. I tried but was bored by the intricate and numerous details of which administrator said/wrote what to whom. Can read but be prepared to skim a bit.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians: The on and off the field story of Cricket in India and beyond: by Boria Majumdar-Part 1- Boria Majumdar is a celebrated cricket journalist. The Book has six chapters. In the first chapter- This book creates interest in the reader by first informing us that when he has been pursuing a Doctoral degree in England the news of match fixing brought so much shadow of doubt on the game as if each match was fixed. During 1991 and 1997, there was not much hype created by displaying each match as it was being played on mobile telephone and TV . The players could meet friends before or during the match until they did not refuse to meet them. Still faith in the game is redeemed by Indian players. the author suggests that framing of laws should be done so as to differentiate between passing an information between journalists, groundsmen, and match field staff which bring a known result to the match.
History of cricket in India- The Parsis established Oriental Cricket club at Bombay. The Sepoy were charmed by cricket, football and hockey during the imperial regime. Cricket was played in Sylhet, Agra and other army cantonments. The sepoys could play against the British army and were able to show their capability as capable opponents. But the English side did not invite Indians to play against them for a long time. Even after independence, India could not defeat the English side until Saurav Ganguly was made captain of the Indian side. Saurav was imaginative and planned to use the services of Virendra Sehwag as operner in 50 overs limited match and succeeded. Later he visited Sehwag at New Delhi and suggested that he open in the Test match also. Sehvag was reluctant becasue if he failed, he would be out of the team. Ganguly assured him and rest is history- Sehwag opened and helped India win matched fo the country. He heard about Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. He visited to see them playing and brought them in the team. India won Nat west trophy, win in Australia, Pakistan. In the Book, when Sachin was at the score of 194 against Pakistan, Saurav declared the innings. Thi incident has been discussed in detail. Dalmia became Chairman of ICC and Sourav was in his good books. Dalmia gave test status to Banladesh. Thus more votes were ensured to Dalmia and money came into cricket. Greg Chappel, the Australian captain had trained Saurav in Australia. So he wanted Chappel to train Indian cricket team. Chappel was selected as coach by BCCI. During the South African tour, Chappel viewed that Saurav had pain the elbow and asked him to give charge to Rahul Dravid and step down. This matter was brought to the notice of BCCI by an email from Chappel. Saurav replied to this question asked by the media at a press conference. This issue has been discussed in details that it was not within the authority and jurisdiction of the coach to change in captain and vice captain. The author has quoted interviews with BCCI officials and others relegated to the issue. In this chapter the issue of Indian Cricket Captain and Chief Coach has been informed. Issue between Saurav Ganguly and Greg Chappel, then for Kolkata Knight Riders- Saurav Ganguly and John Buchanan have been brought to light. John Buchanan wanted to experiment on the theory of change the captain after each match . These T-20 matches were played at South Africa and not in India. KKR performed badly and John Buchanan had to leave. Last issue is between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble as coach. This combination did not succeed. Lastly, Ravi Shastri Chief Coach along with Rahul Dravid as batting coach and Zaheer Khan as bowling coach were selected with the consent of Virat Kohli. Ravi Shastri did not get the opportunity of select the batting and bowling coach. The author has quoted opinion of expert journlists stating that it is too much power in a Captain that he will be consulted before selection of coach and also interfere in the name of commentators for the match. Part 2- Cricket Cash box and revolution- For the World cup cricket matches, India had laid stake with ICC that the matches should be played in india. The question of broadcast of the matches rose up. Doordarshan claimed that it had the sole right ot record and relay the matches from Indian soil and that BCCI could not execute a contract with foreign satellite television industry to establish its equipment on Indian soil, record Indian life (unsafe for security), record matches and relay via satellite TV to world audience. A comparative study of US and British laws has been made about freedom of speech. In India. provisions of Telegraph Act were quoted. TWI had offered to BCCI to permit to set up satellite TV for recording and relay of matches. In 994, government under international pressure, allowed setting of private rado and TV stations in India. Still red tape difficulties arose until Supreme Court ordered that the recording and Relay equipment of TWI confiscated by the Customs Department be released and Ministry Information and Broadcasting, Government of India amend policy to allow set up of equipment on Indian soil focused on the ground to record matches and relay. Change in government, electing Sharad Pawar as BCCI chief and IPL chairman Lalit Modi brought in new investment opening in India. paying foreign satellite channels contracting with BCCI and paying in dollars for the contract. Allowance for advertisement between gap period brought in more revenue to BCCI. Doordarshan also had its share. When money rained in BCCI, it was planned that more matches should be planned so that each could be telecast and more revenue could be generated. Thus Indian version of IPl came into existence. Chapter IPL - the Billion Dollar Baby- is well scripted. BCCI became the richest Cricket administering organisation in the cricketing world. Owners of various teams had their own analysis and predetermined ideas to secure victory. The players had to tolerate their nuances. For victory in a match they can change the captain also depending on the advice of the chief coach. Sky-fall- Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila, S Sreesanth were arrested by Delhi Police for match fixing charge are Mumbai. The story has been described in details and how it affected the morale of the players. (27-9-14 to 9-10-13) Soon after this incident, on, on 11-10-2013, Sachin Tendulakr announced his retirement from cricket All newspapers covered this incident and spared front and sports page for him with photographs and some magazines with his colored photographs. BCCI initiated an inquiry on Lalit Modi IPL commissioner. October 2013, Mudgal Committee appointed by Supreme Court to looking into and suggest a solution to BCCIs problems. M S Dhoni was questioned on role of Gurunath Meiyypan in Chennai Super Kings Team selection. Dhoni informed that rates of auction of players were decided on the table of Meiyappan. Dhoni knew much more but he did not reoply and co operate beyond a point. Harish Salve and C Aryama Sunderam Advocates were there to help him and argue the rest of the matter under evidence. It is the opinion of the author that Cricket is a gentleman's game and players should have the courage to inform full facts before an inquiry committee, in this case, the committee was nominated by Supreme Court. Therefore, it is was recommended to the court that 13 persons needed to be further investigated. Ultimately Meiyappan CSK and Kundra of Rajasthan Royals were found guilty. Now as the name of Sriniwasan was cleared he demanded to be reinstated as BCCI President. The matter has been discussed in details in this chapter of how Anurag Thakur beat him (Sriniwasan) in election by one vote. . The death of incumbent President Jag Mohan Dalmia and appointment of Shashank Manohar to implement the reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee. Part III- The book is illustrated with rare photographs of Indian cricket and players, at India and abroad. One letter from Durga Khote to Major C K Naidu to visit her at her Mumbai residence is a real interesting one. Chapter III is about 1962 test matches in West Indies where the Indian Captain Nariman Contractor got hit by a bouncer on his head by a ball from Charlie Griffith. Dashing play under the vice captain M A K Pataudi, then next tour under Wadekar- win at West Indies and playing at England to win is described. ONe chapter describes our win at Prudential cup 1983 under Kapil Dev next world cup win on Indian soil on 2-4 2011 has been described. How the coffers of BCCI swelled up, players went from rags to riches- M S Dhoni story and other encouraging stories are charmingly written. Chapter IV is about life of the great cricketer K S Ranjisingji. His cricket genius got him the throne of Jamnagar. It is interesting to read how he got letters from two British sisters who were his fans and lived on his way to University. India's first debut test match at Lords ground has been narrated. Role of Maharja of Patiala, Maharaja of Vijaynagram, C K Naidu, Amarnath and other players has been narrated. Frank Wooley also played in this match against India. In India Quadrangular and Pentangular matches have been narrated in brief. Maharaja of Natore and Maharaja of Cooch Behar's love for cricket has been charmingly narrated. Part V- Present and future of Indian cricket- Virat Kohli's leading from the front as captain and his achievements make happy reading though the reason for captain Kumble coach disagreements have been dealt in short. Indian women cricket has been praised but it is expected that the author should write a full book on women cricket in India. Part VI - Pandya Rahul- Kofree with Karan Johar interview has been narrated. It is a great book to read for all. It is a must read for all book lovers

[Tarun Rattan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boria Majumdar has captured the story of Indian Cricket quite comprehensively in this excellent tome. With Cricket World Cup on and India being one of the favourites, I picked up this book to brush up and add to my existing knowledge of Indian cricket. I learned a lot of new facts and great insights from this book, the biggest being that Cricket is the only major sport all over the world where the control has been wrested from West and now the sport administration lies squarely within BCCI control. This book describes in quite a detail that journey where bankrupt Indian cricket board i.e. BCCI in 90s with the help of astute management and vision of its key stakeholders challenged the status quo and became one of the biggest sport powerhouses in the world. Now BCCI calls the shots in cricketing world and has taken the sport to its new heights with the introduction of Indian Premier League and other club leagues.

The change is primarily led on the back of billion strong cricket fans from the sub continent for whom cricket is like a region and likes of Sachin Tendulkar are like demigods. This legion of Indian fans now has disposal income to throng cricket stadiums all over the world to watch their favourite players. Not surprisingly this love of cricket has been encashed by corporates in India resulting in multibillion dollar television advertising rights which has made BCCI as the richest cricket board by some margin. This flow of money also has made Indian cricketers richer beyond there wildest dreams and has attracted new talent into the sport. All this has led to the resurgence in Indian cricket with new dynamic players like Kohli, Rohit, Bhumhra being churned out on almost industrial scale now. Hope this trend continues and India keep on making positive contributions to the world cricket and also encourages new national teams to emerge, the new Afghanistan team is a good example, hopefully Nepal will get upgraded to cricket playing nation soon. More nations playing the game will augur well for cricket and will bring more energy and versatility to this gem of a sport.

Sadly India did not came out as winner in this edition of World cup but the whole tournament and the superlative final just goes on to prove that nothing beats cricket and no other sport comes anywhere near the drama that a game of cricket can bring on.

The book is also a great primer to understand the key personalities in Indian Cricket, the likes of Jagmohan Dalmia, M. Srinivasan & maverick Lalit Modi and how they led from front and envisioned to take Indian cricket to its current heights. Also the book covers important turning points in Indian cricket like the coverage of how Saurav Ganguly helped transform the Indian team into aggressive winning machine and paving way for likes of Virat Kohli who has admirably taken aggression to almost an art. The book also covers one of the darkest chapter in Indian cricket where Greg Chappell did his best to push back Indian cricket by at least 10 years which might have been a well thought off plan by English and Australian boards to put a brake on Indian takeover of the sport.

The book is also important in the sense that what happened in Cricket world is also the forerunner of the things to come in other fields like politics, defence, space exploration. The book astutely prepares one to anticipate that shinning future for India, which will come with numerous opportunities for young Indians. IPL is just one example but if Indians play their cards properly in coming decades, then it's more than likely that future will squarely belong to India not only in Cricket but in finance, geopolitics, space exploration as well.

[Sundar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is predominantly for those, who’re interested in the sport end to end, from a journalist lens. That doesn’t mean it’s a bible for Cricket, covering everything under the sun, however it covers many parts a typical biography wouldn’t cover. The book does not cover stats, verbal mention of scoreboard or commentary on what happened in the match.

Boria is a famous sports journalist with a degree on Social History of Indian cricket. The book is based on a lot of his real life experiences, interviews, sources (as they call it in Media) and definitely from his cricket historian lens.

The book has the typical spicy “outside the stadium” stories, controversies - both known and unknown to public. It talks about various controversies between coach and captain: Ganguly/ Chappell years, Kohli/ Kumble. It covers the ugly side of the game such as betting in 2013 by Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals affiliated folks, the way Lalit Modi conducted the game between 2008 and 2010. How these were handled behind the scene with lot of details. MonkeyGate is addressed too. The book does give more than what we know, but less than what we want to know. It doesn’t talk about say sensitive details that might have happened in the court or BCCI table. Well, it’s the best version of what a journalist can maximum mention.

It also talks about the contribution of major three legends: Gavaskar, the one who changed the face of Indian cricketer from 1970s; Tendulkar, the God sent child who created the impossible, not just with runs/ hundreds, but the breadth of contributions and generations of bowlers, rules and evolution of cricket he has seen. Lastly, Kohli, the promise we have for future generations to seek inspiration.

Three era of Captains: Kapil Dev, who created the belief that India “belong” at an International level. How Ganguly took a step forward and registered multiple away wins and dominating performances against strong teams such as Australia, South Africa, SriLanka, England and Pakistan. Dhoni’s triumph in 2011 World Cup. One chapter per person/ era.

History: It talks about breath of cricket history. Have we ever wondered when this all started? How this was initially managed or rather mis-managed? The evolution of the management, how this is tied with political side of India in 1930s and 1940s. How this game was initially played between Hindu and Muslims as a communal game (with no grudge on each other). How things evolved over time since 1890 to 1932. The first test match in 1932. Mentions of early legends such as CK Nayudu, Vijay Merchant, Ranji, Ajit Vadekar, Nawab Pataudi. The Indian spin quartet: Venkataraghavan, Chandra, Bedi and Prasanna and their impact on the game.

Polical drama within BCCI: the office bearers in BCCI, ICCI, Cricket Australia, ECB, the drama between multiple boards and political tensions between BCCI members. While some could be a stretch for those who’re not interested in these, some might like the backroom drama.

And IPL: how this idea came out of the blue for Lalit Modi and the real background behind the launch of the magnum opus event it is today.

This is a good read for a “cricket nut”, who’d love to know everything about cricket. However, you may have to run through some pages, given the depth with which each topic was dealt. Not everyone would be keen on knowing the nitty gritty of everything.

[Rama · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a massively failed attempt at writing a comprehensive Indian cricket story that has no reason to be so, especially considering the privileges and the access to resources and personnel that the author had. The only good parts of it are the pictures of the olden days and those tour books...

Firstly, the writing is atrocious and lacking in reasonable grammar. The editing is shoddy too, especially considering the number of "each of __"s wrongly tied to contextually plural irregular verbs such as "have." Secondly, Boria makes do with citing others to make banal points that I know already, instead of synthesizing things himself. The Lala Amarnath and Vinoo Mankad issues and the sepoy inclinations were already a long-time feature of my cricket-savviness, so only the few pages of Cooch Behar/Natore history were of any interest to me. The frequent rhetorical questions employed by the author seemed like exercises in laziness, repetition and tautology to me.

Most shockingly, the author associates (the now late) Andreas Brehme's penalty goal in the final against Diego Maradona's Argentina with the 1994 World Cup (it is Italia '90 for Satan's sake!). Diego's World Cup in 1994 ended in ignominy following a failed drugs test after the second group match of Argentina. The worse thing is that Boria comes back to Roberto Baggio at the end to cling on to the saga of his missed penalty by attributing it to Italia '90. Baggio was an upcoming star during Italia '90 and not in USA '94. He had already won the Ballon d'Or and the 'FIFA World Player of the Year' award for 1993 and was the best player in the world in the lead-up to USA '94. Baggio converted his semifinal penalty in Italia '90 against Argentina and failed to do so in the final against Brazil at USA '94. That the author messes up with elementary stuff like this speaks volumes about his credibility and that of the editorial team.

Last but not least, calling Rahul Kanwal one of India's leading journalists is a joke taken way too seriously and to ridiculous extremes!

[Ian Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world needs a solid single-volume history of Indian cricket, sprawling subject that it is. Boria Majumdar's book goes some way towards this, yet I am frustrated by its flaws. Viewed as a companion volume to Osman Samiuddin's The Unquiet Ones: A History of Pakistan Cricket, it falls some way short by comparison.

One issue, albeit not a fatal one, is that Majumdar seems a bit too keen on homerism, opinions and self-promotion. He lapses too many times into emphasising what good buddies he is with Sourav Ganguly and others, and generally slanting everything through a Bengali lens. When I heard about the subsequent Wriddhiman Saha saga, it did not strike me as inconsistent with the personality that leaps off these pages.

The more perplexing issue for me is structural. The book is divided into five parts and numerous chapters, yet for the life of me I cannot discern any logic to the order. It may as well have been totally randomised by a computer program. There is no flow chronologically, nor can I detect a flow thematically. If this order was carefully chosen by an author or editor and makes perfect sense to them, then no apparent effort was made to communicate this reasoning to the reader.

There is plenty to like here in individual chapters, and much history that would not be known to general fans of the sport, but nevertheless I think there remains room for another author to attempt the definitive single-volume history of the subject.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boria Majumdar's book on the history of Indian cricket is detailed, objective, and interesting at times, but frustratingly slow and boring at others. The book's structure is rather odd. The first half of the book deals with the last 25 years of Indian cricket. After that Majumdar explores India's World Cup wins and then moves on to cricket in the early 1900s. The book ends with a short segment on Kohli's captaincy. While Majumdar's attention to detail and is admirable, he tends to focus on the wrong subjects. There are 15 dull pages of letters regarding telecast rights, while only 9 pages are given to the fascinating role of cricket as a colonial civilizer. Similarly, there are unnecessarily long sections devoted to spot-fixing scandals and fall-outs between coaches and captains. The last 100 pages are a massive improvement. They are breezy and enjoyable to read. The sections on the Bombay Pentangular and Ranji's personal life were particularly interesting. I really wished the author would have expanded on the role of cricket in colonialism and nationalism. Overall, an informative and detailed read which could have been much better.

[Amrit Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed account of especially the modern history of Indian cricket. There have been other books that capture the origins and the great historical past of the growth of the sport in India and some of it is covered here as well, but what is especially relevant and appreciable is how well and in how much detail the modern history of Indian Cricket is documented in this book. The author captures all of the major events that played out both on and off the field in the past couple of decades and as someone who has grown up following those events closely, this book gives the perfect flashback accompanied by previously unknown or vague details which the author is able to bring out through his connections with the major personalities involved in those events. A brilliant highlights package of everything you need to know about the how gentleman's game has grown and evolved in the country especially during the period when India has transitioned from being the country where the sport is a religion to the country which is the financial powerhouse that drives the game.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Show me any book on cricket and chances are that I would have just picked it up anyway. And so it was when I saw this book in the library. And it turned out to be OK, though I do not think this is a book that I want to keep in my library.

This book chronicles the history of Indian cricket through the ages, right from the 1930s to 2018, mostly from the administration side, the power struggles among the different players, the different crises that it had faced and so on. The author has done a fairly thorough job of presenting both the sides of the coin in these crises and has also added his perspectives. There are also quite a few anecdotes and personal reminiscences by the author on his various interactions with the players, that adds a nice flavor.

However, I do feel that this book will not necessarily appeal to all, even if one is a big cricket fan. I am happy that I read this book, but do not think I will read it again.

[Delson Roche · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book on Indian crickets administration and its controversies and makes for a thrilling read. It was very difficult to put it down and took three complete days to finish it. The narration is fast and power packed. The research is deep and impeccable. Very few Indian non-fiction authors write after such in depth research.
The only sour spot was the authors interpretation or his reasoning of the resignation of Ram Guha as member of CoA. Guha’s book, which was released later (Commonwealth of cricket) gives Guha’s side of the story and then the story presented in this book stands out like a sour spot.
The controversies during the early days of Indian cricket, which feature towards the end is the best section of the book. The controversies on Bombay Pentagular also made for a very fascinating read.
I strongly recommend this book for all Indian cricket fans. If you don’t follow cricket, especially Indian cricket, then you may not connect much to the stories here.

[Nishant Bhagat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a big mismatch in title and the content of this book. While the content is good, I wish the book had a better title and the content organized better.

Boria's access to the who's who of the cricketing world does allow him to delve into the controversies which have plagued the game. But unfortunately his hands are tied and this does not help the reader. This book is all about how politics, power play are entwined with the Indian Cricketing set-up. But you land up feeling 'So what!' at the end of this book. There isn't anything here that isn't in the public domain. Which makes me wonder what was the objective of writing this book in the first place.

I would say you can give this book a miss unless of course you are a cricket fanatic and a student of the game who needs to read everything available.

[Shamik Lahiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians, gets a picture of Indian cricket in totality. Boria Majumdar does an excellent job of taking us through the years of cricket in India. And understanding of two dimensions of cricket, the sport vs the business, the passion of playing vs the money that surrounds it, the adversity vs the triumphs.
From cricket used as a form to mutiny against the brits in an even field to as an instigator in 1857 revolution. From Ranjitsinji, India's first cricketing superstar to Virat Kohli.

The various events that have shaped indian criket to what it is today. Be that 1971 win against England in England under Sir Ajit Wadekar , the 1983 world cup, Cronji fixing scam in 2001, Lalit Modi's brainchild in the IPL or "Dhoni, finishes off in style". Indian cricket has been shaped to be the epicenter of an English game.

[Tushar Mangl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cricket is now an intrinsic part of the Indian lifestyle and Boria Majumdar is an accomplished writer who has penned a great historical account of the game.

Recounting the past of cricket throughout colonial and post-independence Indian lifespan, Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians gives captivating insight into those who support, endorse, play, and watch the sport, as well as the entire country now considered the global hub of the world of cricket.

Read my complete review here

[Arpit Rastogi · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it took me sometime to finish it. I would have finished it quicker than I have. Considering that I read 100 pages on the 1st day.
Boria as usual, a master has done a fabulous work in writing this book. It is a fabulous book covering the stories of Indian cricket from time less known.
It is also me and my connect with cricket that made it look even more facinating.
It is just not any other cricket book. It is a masterpiece for a cricket mad like me who aspires to write on cricket.

[Janhavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like it or hate it, but you cannot avoid cricket if you are living in India. The book was interesting in parts. This book has a bit about everything - about IPL, match fixing, the politics and the behind the scenes stuff that happens. Covers the journey of Indian cricket right from the colonial times to current times - i.e. 2018.
There is also a chapter about women's cricket in India. Looking forward to reading a detailed book about it.

[Suman Srivastava · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have taken 26 days to read this book. I suspect that says it all.

I love cricket. But this book isn't about cricket. It's about the politics behind cricket. This may be interesting to some, but I got frustrated reading this. However my craze for cricket prevented me from abandoning this half way. My advice is to stay away from this book.

[Anoochan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book for cricket lovers as it chronicles the growth of the game in India, probably Cricket's biggest market. It also provides an in depth view of the murky aspects of the game beyond the playground.
Reducing a star simply because of the recent controversies of the author and also probably the writing is vey opinionated rather than unbiased!

[Ramachandra M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boria has done a thorough research and penned down this wonderful book. For everyone who’s interested in knowing about Indian cricket or the yesteryears (pre-independence era), this is the best book. Though a few chapters of the BCCI and its politics is tedious, the book is riveting enough to have a read. Cricket enthusiasts, go for it.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot about the early and recent history of cricket in India. Wasn't chronological as it went from the previous decade to early history to briefly most recent (as of 2017), but had plenty of information to digest and compelling stories to learn about further.

[Girish Shivakumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boria knows to write about stuff that sells, just like the game he writes about.
Summed up well here :https://bit.ly/2sgqJwg

[Prashant Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful read

[Nikhil Kalale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book. Especially enjoyed the bits about the game during colonial rule

[Sanjay Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book especially for cricket enthusiasts! Very well researched and held my attention all through. This is a book that is difficult to put down once you take it up for reading!