On the Intersection of Indian Demographics and Test Cricket - Part 1

[danieldwilliam]

So India have won the Cricket T20 World Cup.

There followed some / many comments on the socials (from Indians judging by user names) that there were a lot of excitable but ignorant young Indian cricket fans who were too young to properly appreciate that the IPL was not the same as cricket and that the IPL had a very clear idea in mind of what appeals to young Indian cricket fans and prepared their wickets accordingly and that was different from the nuances of what other people appreciated in different formats or different parts of the world.

Which in some ways is just older people being older people and younger people being younger people with a kernel of truth about the IPL.

But it prompted me to look at the demographics of India. The population pyramid looks like a bishop's mitre.

Media age is 29. (China's 38, UK is 41.) 25% of the population are between 0-14 years old. Which is a young country.

I'm not surprised they don't yet appreciate the joy of Test Cricket.

Comments

[andrewducker]

The older people should be delighted that the youngsters enjoy Cricket at all, considering how niche it is in lots of places!

[danieldwilliam]

Well, yes overall. On balance I am in favour of the IPL and young Indians spending money on cricket.

However, it's not niche in India.

It's a bit like folks who have only ever watched Friends being surprised that Yes Minister exists and not having heard of Catch-22.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes, Cricket seems to be firmly embedded in India. I don't see it going anywhere soon. But I suspect that IPL has a big part to play in that continuing.

I wonder if IPL will take over as people age up, or if people will transfer over, or a mixture.

[danieldwilliam]

I suspect that IPL has a big part to play in that continuing.

Uncertain I think. You could argue that the IPL is an attempt to monetise and oligopolise the game divorced from its roots in the community.

It's not just the IPL or the concept of T20 - it's the prioritisation in the IPL of certain types of playing area to maximise certain types of play. At worst the IPL smacks of pantomime.

But there is a lot to be said for a form of cricket you can go and watch on a weekday evening after work with your kids. So I'm in favour of T20 as a concept, a little less in favour of the IPL specifically.

[andrewducker]

Aaah, that makes sense.

Yes, T20 was what I meant - I'm not wedded to any particular regulators or organising group.