Lok Sabha elections 2024: Cricket’s political pitch

One of the two ‘Siamese' obsessions of the nation, cricket, has slightly receded from our attention, at least for a day, as the IPL is over and India is yet to play its World Cup opener. The other IPL, however, the mega ‘Indian Political League', is busy occupying our minds, even a day after the election results are out.

Cricket's tremendous popularity in South Asia places its top players among the region's most famous people, some of whom have used their celebrity status to advance in their political careers.

Yusuf Pathan, a former India all-rounder, became the latest in a long line of South Asian cricketers to enter politics after building an unchallenged lead in his campaign. The 41-year-old made 79 appearances for his country and was a member of the India squad that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup at home, however, he did not play in the final. He was elected in West Bengal for a party in the alliance that opposes PM Narendra Modi.

"Uparwale ka rahem, karam bolein (Call this God's mercy, blessings), I always feel that I am for big matches, moments. I just have to bat for them. I don't want to become a politician. I want to keep my image of a sportsperson intact. But after winning, I will work for my constituency and will make sure that I spend at least eight days in a month there," Yusuf told PTI.

Also Read: IPL 2024 final: Despair for some, delight for others

On a mixed day for India's sporting heroes who tried their luck in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, cricket stars Kirti Azad and Pathan proved to be giant slayers, while football great Prasun Banerjee held on to his political turf but a couple of others fell by the wayside.

Legendary former hockey captain Dilip Tirkey (BJD) and para-athlete Devendra Jhajhariya (BJP), who owns two gold medals from the Paralympics in the javelin throw, both admitted loss in their respective seats of Churu (Rajasthan) and Sundargarh (Odisha). However, Azad and Yusuf, who were competing on behalf of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), stamped their dominance in the political arena by clinching surprise victories. Former football captain Banerjee was another prominent athlete competing on a TMC ticket, winning his Howrah constituency by 1.69 lakh votes. He would be serving his third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha as the constituency's representative.

Meanwhile, Azad, playing for the 1983 World Cup-winning ‘Kapil's Devils', made a formidable political comeback by defeating BJP heavyweights Dilip Ghosh from the WB constituency of Bardhaman-Durgapur. He went past the former BJP state chairman Ghosh, who had previously represented the Midnapore constituency, by a margin of 1,37,981 votes.

Ghosh was a vociferous opponent of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress government in the state and held the position of national vice-president of the BJP from 2021 to 2023, therefore the news came as a big shock to the party.

Notably, the BJP suspended Azad in 2015 after he criticised the late Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for alleged corruption in the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). He ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Dhanbad on a Congress ticket before moving to the Trinamool Congress in 2021.

Fur Yusuf, on the other hand, this is the first excursion into politics. He played for the Indian team that won the first 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, as well as the 2011 ODI World Cup at home. Jhajharia, a first-time candidate, lost by 72,737 votes against Congress' Rahul Kaswan in Rajasthan's Churu constituency.

(With PTI inputs)