Players Wore Dhoti-Kurta & Commentators Spoke In Sanskrit In A Cricket Tournament In Varanasi

Since its inception, cricket has evolved in many ways to become what it’s today. The gear had to be modernised, the ball and the bat had to be streamlined, and the rules had to be amended to assure fair play.

That’s why cricket is at its peak at the moment. And you can come up with fictional upgrades like a floating pitch or equipping the players with jet-packs, but they won’t happen anytime soon. That said, a school in Varanasi has actually come up with a very desi update to the game.

According to NDTV, the Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vidyalaya had organised a cricket tournament where the players were dressed in traditional dhoti and kurta. Ganesh Dutt Shastri, a teacher of a Sanskrit-medium school said,

“All Sanskrit schools across Varanasi are participating in the tournament. There are five teams in contest and all the students are wearing dhoti and kurta. The Sanskrit commentary is being delivered by Shresht Narayan Mishra and Dr Vikas Dixit.”

The tournament was organised on the Vidyalaya’s 75th founding year. The games were limited to 10 overs. And the players (who were barefoot, along with the three lines of the shivling on their forehead), umpires and commentators were seen in traditional Indian attire.

You can check out glimpses of the game here:

While explaining the uniqueness of this tournament, Acharya Pawan Kumar of Shastrath Mahavidyalaya said that,

“It is a proud moment for us that this tournament is known as Sanskrit Cricket League. While on other days, the boys study Vedas and have pens in their hands, today they have a bat and ball in their hands.”

Shastri also mentioned that this is the first time such a tournament is being held in India.

Although the distinctive and truly Indian take on cricket should be lauded, the barefoot part of the game can be risky because the players can end up hurting themselves. Haven’t they watch the only good Bollywood movie on cricket, ‘Lagaan’? That said, would you like to adapt this concept for your local matches or are you doing it already kyuki gear kharidne ke paise nahi hai? Let us know in the comments.