Caught amidst the cricket fever: Tourism and Integration

Priyanka Mehta Wednesday 05th June 2019 11:57 EDT
 

The opening ceremony of the 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup was hosted at the Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, May 29, and attended by about 4000 cricket fans, celebrity names and captains of all cricket teams. Broadcast globally, the party was hosted by model Shibani Dandekar, veteran English batsman Andrew Flintoff and comedian Paddy McGuinness. While the sodden celebrations set the stage for the World Cup, it also provided a head start for Indian fans from across the world to tie up their laces and flock to stadiums across the UK to bat for their home team.

"It's lovely to be here. We have such a huge fan base in England. The amount of people travelling from home as well...It's great to see at every stadium we play at, at least 50 per cent of the crowd is Indian. For us, that's a thing of pressure but a thing of pride as well. Hopefully, we have got to use to the crowd support to our advantage," said Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

According to figures collated by VisitBritain, tourism increased marginally from 37.5 mn in 2018 to 38.8mn people as of February 2019. However, officials at the VFS Global estimate that the cricket fever will lead to a further influx of about 80,000 Indian fans travelling to the UK particularly for the tournament, a figure corroborated based on the number of visa applications received at the end of March and April.

But while cricket promises celebration, there is a perception that it tends to create tensions especially among the migrant communities settled in the UK who are caught in the dilemma of supporting their home team as opposed to their resident country. However, writing for The Sunday Times, Lord Jitesh Gadhia has highlighted the redundancy of the “so-called Tebbit Test” today.

“The so-called Tebbit Test, asking immigrants to choose between their old and new countries, now seems outdated, as people are increasingly comfortable with multiple identities.

“When Tebbit’s comment was made in 1990, it was an era when loyalties were still questioned and social integration less advanced. We know that diaspora communities are among the most patriotic British citizens — and equally proud of their heritage.” he said.

Lord Gadhia’s comments appear amidst revealations that about 41% of ticket sales for the Cricket World Cup have been taken up by South Asian diaspora communities - from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - who will turn out in force to support the teams of their ancestry. This year, 9 of the 10 nations playing in the six-week tournament are members of the Commonwealth. And earlier in the week, some members of the Bangladeshi community in pockets of the UK rejoiced as Bangladesh defeated South Africa while in the following match, the bookies favourite England lost to Pakistan in a surprise victory.

However, integration continues to remain a vulnerable subject particularly for cricketers of Indian origin such as Ravi Bopara when they turn out for England against India. In 2013, Bopara was labelled as a traitor during the India-England Champions Trophy final in Edgbaston.

But just like Lord Gadhia, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, is also a firm believer of the significance of cricket in ensuring women empowerment and cultural integration. Malala, an advocate of women's cricket was representing Pakistan at the Opening ceremony on Wednesday for the 60-second challenge.

"I have been a big fan of cricket since my childhood. I used to play it on the streets, on rooftops. I still remember fighting with my brothers to let me play even if I get out. This sport connects people from different backgrounds, different cultures. It is uniting people from different countries," said Malala.

In the 60-second challenge all the 10 countries competing in the Cricket World Cup were represented by a former cricketer and a celebrity and played street cricket. While Pakistan was represented by Malala and Azhar Ali, Anil Kumble and Farhan Akhtar, represented India. But it was Chris Hughes, and Kevin Pietersen, ambassadors for England who aced the 60 second challenge.


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