History of cricket in India to 1918 - wikipedia History of cricket in India to 1918 This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2012 ) This article describes the history of cricket in India to 1918. Contents 1 Beginnings 2 Early developments 3 Beginning of first - class cricket 4 Domestic cricket 4.1 Bombay Presidency winners 4.2 Bombay Triangular winners 4.3 Bombay Quadrangular winners 5 Leading players by season 5.1 Batsmen 5.2 Bowlers 6 International cricket 7 International tours of India 7.1 G.F. Vernon 's XI 1889 -- 90 7.2 Lord Hawke 's XI 1892 -- 93 8 Further reading 9 External links Beginnings The entire history of cricket in India and the sub-continent as a whole is based on the existence and development of the British Raj via the East India Company. On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the ( EIC ) East India Company, often colloquially referred to as `` John Company ''. It was initially a joint - stock company that sought trading privileges in India and the East Indies, but the Royal Charter effectively gave it a 21 - year monopoly on all trade in the region. In time, the East India Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one which virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, until its dissolution in 1858 following the Indian Mutiny. The East India Company was the means by which cricket was introduced into India. In 1639, the Company effectively founded the city of Madras, and in 1661 acquired Portuguese territory on the west coast of India that included Bombay. In 1690, an Anglo - Mughal treaty allowed English merchants to establish a trading settlement on the Hooghly River, which became Calcutta. All of these places became leading centres of cricket as the popularity of the game grew among the native population. Early developments The first definite reference to cricket being played anywhere in the sub-continent is a report of English sailors of the East India Company written in 1737. It refers to cricket being played at Cambay, near Baroda in 1721. The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club was known to be in existence by 1792, but was possibly founded more than a decade earlier. In 1799, another club was formed at Seringapatam in south India after the successful British siege and the defeat of Tipu Sultan. Beginning of first - class cricket In 1864, a Madras v. Calcutta match was arguably the start of first - class cricket in India. The most important fixture in the 19th century was the Bombay Presidency Match which evolved, first, into the Bombay Triangular and then into the Bombay Quadrangular. The match was first played in 1877 and then intermittently for several seasons until finally being given first - class status in 1892 - 93. An English team led by George Vernon in 1889 -- 90 was the first foreign team to tour India but none of the matches that it played are considered first - class. First - class cricket definitely began in the 1892 -- 93 season with two Europeans v Parsees matches, at Bombay ( match drawn ) and Poona ( Parsees won by 3 wickets ). In the same season, Lord Hawke captained an English team that played four first - class matches including a game against `` All India '' on 26 -- 28 January 1893. Domestic cricket Bombay Presidency winners 1892 - 93 -- Parsees 1893 - 94 -- Europeans 1894 - 95 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1895 - 96 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1896 - 97 -- Europeans 1897 - 98 -- Parsees 1898 - 99 -- Europeans 1899 - 00 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1900 - 01 -- Parsees 1901 - 02 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1902 - 03 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1903 - 04 -- Parsees 1904 - 05 -- Parsees 1905 - 06 -- Hindus shared with Parsees 1906 - 07 -- Hindus Bombay Triangular winners 1907 - 08 -- Parsees 1908 - 09 -- Europeans 1909 - 10 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1910 - 11 -- Europeans shared with Hindus 1911 - 12 -- Parsees Bombay Quadrangular winners 1912 - 13 -- Parsees 1913 - 14 -- Hindus shared with Muslims 1914 - 15 -- Hindus shared with Parsees 1915 - 16 -- Europeans 1916 - 17 -- Europeans shared with Parsees 1917 - 18 -- Hindus shared with Parsees Leading players by season The lists below give the leading first - class runscorers and wicket - takers in each domestic season. Batsmen 1892 - 93 -- Ledger Hill ( Lord Hawke 's XI ) -- 212 runs @ 35.33 ( HS 132 ) ; the leading Indian batsman was Nasarvanji Bapasola with 155 @ 38.75 ( HS 65 ) 1893 - 94 -- Bowlers 1892 - 93 -- John Hornsby ( Lord Hawke 's XI ) -- 28 wickets @ 10.67 ( BB 8 -- 40 ) ; the leading Indian bowler was Dinshaw Writer with 19 @ 4.94 ( BB 8 -- 35 ) 1893 - 94 -- International cricket The first Indian ventures into international cricket were by the Parsees cricket team which toured England twice in the 1880s. See : Parsee cricket team in England in 1886 and Parsee cricket team in England in 1888. International tours of India GF Vernon 's xi 1889 -- 90 An English cricket team led by GF Vernon toured Ceylon and India in the winter of 1889 - 90. The team played no first - class matches but it was a pioneering tour being the first visit by an English team to India and the second to Ceylon. In all, the team played 13 matches of which 10 were won, 1 was lost and 2 drawn. Lord Hawke 's XI 1892 -- 93 Further information : Lord Hawke 's XI cricket team in Ceylon and India in 1892 -- 93 Further reading Rowland Bowen, Cricket : A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 Vasant Raiji, India 's Hambledon Men, Tyeby Press, 1986 Mihir Bose, A History of Indian Cricket, Andre - Deutsch, 1990 Ramachandra Guha, A Corner of a Foreign Field -- An Indian History of a British Sport, Picador, 2001 External links CricketArchive -- Itinerary of Events in India Indian cricket seasons History of cricket in India to 1918 1918 -- 19 to 1945 1945 -- 46 to 1960 1960 -- 61 to 1970 1970 -- 71 to 1985 1985 -- 86 to 2000 History of cricket in India from 2000 -- 01 2009 -- 10 2010 -- 11 2011 -- 12 2012 -- 13 2013 -- 14 2014 -- 15 2015 -- 16 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 2018 -- 19 International cricket tours of India Test and LOI tours Afghanistan 2018 Australia 1956 -- 57 1959 -- 60 1964 -- 65 1969 -- 70 1979 -- 80 1984 -- 85 1986 -- 87 1996 -- 97 1997 -- 98 2000 -- 01 2004 -- 05 2007 2008 -- 09 2009 -- 10 2010 -- 11 2012 -- 13 2013 -- 14 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 2018 -- 19 Bangladesh 2016 -- 17 England 1933 -- 34 1951 -- 52 1961 -- 62 1963 -- 64 1972 -- 73 1976 -- 77 1979 -- 80 1981 -- 82 1984 -- 85 1992 -- 93 2001 -- 02 2005 -- 06 2008 -- 09 2011 -- 12 2012 -- 13 2016 -- 17 New Zealand 1955 -- 56 1964 -- 65 1969 -- 70 1976 -- 77 1988 -- 89 1995 -- 96 1999 -- 2000 2003 -- 04 2010 -- 11 2012 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 Pakistan 1952 -- 53 1960 -- 61 1979 -- 80 1983 -- 84 1986 -- 87 1998 -- 99 2004 -- 05 2007 -- 08 2012 -- 13 South Africa 1991 -- 92 1996 -- 97 1999 -- 2000 2004 -- 05 2005 -- 06 2007 -- 08 2009 -- 10 2015 -- 16 2019 -- 20 Sri Lanka 1982 -- 83 1986 -- 87 1990 -- 91 1993 -- 94 1997 -- 98 2005 -- 06 2006 -- 07 2009 -- 10 2014 - 15 2015 -- 16 2017 -- 18 West Indies 1948 -- 49 1958 -- 59 1966 -- 67 1974 -- 75 1978 -- 79 1983 -- 84 1987 -- 88 1994 -- 95 2002 -- 03 2006 -- 07 2011 -- 12 2013 -- 14 2014 - 15 2018 -- 19 Zimbabwe 1992 -- 93 2000 -- 01 2001 -- 02 2018 -- 19 Tournaments hosted Multiple teams 1990 -- 91 1994 -- 95 1996 -- 97 1997 -- 98 1997 -- 98 1998 -- 99 2003 -- 04 2006 2011 2016 2018 2021 2023 Other tours Australian 1935 -- 36 1945 -- 46 Bangladeshi 1983 -- 84 2015 -- 16 Ceylonese / Sri Lankan 1932 -- 33 1940 -- 41 1952 -- 53 1955 -- 56 1957 -- 58 1959 -- 60 1961 -- 62 1964 -- 65 1966 -- 67 1968 -- 69 1970 -- 71 1972 -- 73 1974 -- 75 1975 -- 76 Dutch 1994 -- 95 2012 -- 13 English 1889 -- 90 1892 -- 93 1926 -- 27 1937 -- 38 1956 -- 57 1963 -- 64 1994 -- 95 2005 -- 06 Kenyan 1999 -- 00 2011 -- 12 Multi-national 1930 -- 31 1949 -- 50 1950 -- 51 1953 -- 54 1961 -- 62 1964 -- 65 1967 -- 68 Tanzanian 2006 -- 07 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_cricket_in_India_to_1918&oldid=806196212 '' Categories : History of Indian cricket Indian cricket seasons from 1864 to 1917 -- 18 Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from April 2012 All articles lacking sources Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 20 October 2017, at 10 : 42. 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Question: who initiated the game of cricket among india and how
Answer: The East India Company