I instantly made the comparison with cricket, wondering how another sport (arguably more complicated and less accessible than football), had managed to transcend the layers of Indian society to become the powerhouse it is today. This was clearly a familiar question to Rohit and Mangesh, who simultaneously smiled and sighed before launching into their responses.
Read MoreThe Cooperage Ground is nestled in amongst parks and expensive property in the heart of ‘town’, and the view from its sizeable (but empty) bleachers was a fascinating one. Architecturally, Colaba itself was heavily influenced by the British, with a walk around the local ‘Oval Park’ reminding me more of Oxford or Cambridge than India. Games of schoolboy cricket were taking place as Victorian clock towers and school buildings lined the park’s perimeter. Games of schoolboy cricket, I might add, with far more spectators than joined me in the stands for the MDFA fixture.
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