How India Turned Cricket Into A Billion Dollar Business Cricket's grip on Indian popular culture is a fascinating phenomenon that defies explanation.
In a country where Bollywood films and cricket are often used interchangeably, it's easy to overlook the complex historical context that transformed this colonial pastime into a billion dollar industry.
From Colonial Pastime to National Obsession When British colonial rule was established in India in 1858, cricket was introduced as a means of social control and cultural assimilation.