Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the English East India Company on December 31, 1600.

India would never be the same.

The East India Company, or more colloquially known as the “John Company”, was purportedly a joint-stock company that sought trading rights in India and the East Indies. In practice, however, it was a 21-year monopoly on all trade in the region. Even more importantly, it was the start of a reign that transformed a commercial trading venture into a ruler of a land and its peoples.

Like many British customs, such as the Indian national language of English, The East India Company was the means by which cricket was introduced to India. The first documented instance of Cricket being played anywhere in India was in Baroda in 1721, in the modern state of Gujarat. It was played by the Kolis of Gujarat, sea pirates who looted British ships. The East India Company tried to befriend the Kolis by introducing them to the game of Cricket.

Those were the seeds of a love affair between a people and what is now their national sport.

Cricket has been the most popular sport in India since the British Raj. Cricket is an integral part of Indian culture. Indian Cricket players not only attain celebrity status, but in many ways are viewed as demigods. Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, and many others can not walk the streets of India without being mobbed.