Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has said that being a Brahmin has made it easier for him to adopt the culture of Chennai and his statement has sparked controversy.
At the same time, the memory of India’s first Dalit cricketer to rule the cricket field by crossing the walls of caste was reminiscent.
Casteism was rampant in the country in the 19th century. Indian society was plagued by caste discrimination while British rule dominated the country. During that period, in 1892, a certain Palwankar Balu got a job in the Poona Club at a salary of Rs. 4 per month.
At that time only British cricket was played in the Pune club and sand was in charge of maintaining the pitch and net for practice. When he discharged his duties, the British came to know about Baloo’s cricketing talent.
Batting in that club was reserved only for the British and hence Balu got the opportunity to bowl only.
Baloo turned out to be a skilled bowler and developed the technique of spin bowling by practicing for several hours at the Poona Club.
During the British rule, there were cricket clubs with names of different religions like Hindu, Muslim, Parsi etc. The Hindus in Pune had established a new club at that time and they needed sand to defeat the European club. But since he was a Dalit, the big question before him was whether to include him in the team or not.
Eventually, on the strength of Balu’s talent, the club in Pune gave him a chance.
As it turned out, the club won matches mostly because of its quality bowling.
Even after that, the wall of caste discrimination remained. They used to take tea from a different cup. The dinner plate was also different. Even after one play on the cricket field, Balu had to bear the wrath of caste outside the field.
And then in 1896, plague engulfed Pune.
At that time, cricket was thriving in Mumbai and Baloo returned to the city in search of a job.
He was later selected for the newly formed Hindu Gymkhana team in Mumbai.
In 1906, Baloo’s penetrating bowling helped the Hindu team defeat the British team. The defeat of the British on the cricket field at the beginning of the freedom struggle proved to be a boon for the Indians. The wall of racism fell between the other players and them.
The Indian team toured England for the first time in 1911 and included Baloo. Even though they lost, Baloo’s performance on that tour was unparalleled.
Several English county teams offered him to play for them, which Baloo turned down as he was determined to play in India.
Even people like Lokmanya Tilak and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar have praised the spinner’s cricketing skills. His younger brother also played cricket for a Hindu club.
Despite his talent and performance, Balu was denied the captaincy as he was a downtrodden and never got a chance to lead the team. However, he became the first cricketer in the history of the Dalit community to play cricket for the country.
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
.