Cricket – A century ago, it was considered as white man’s game. But it was only a matter of time before the game grew in popularity across the colonies, symbolising nothing less than triumph over the colonial shackles. Instilling pride in the newly independent colonies of Asia, Africa and Caribbeans, the game of cricket was a source of hope, inspiration and convergence for the large populations of these countries.
Today the game is rapidly expanding its footprints, and is spread over 108 countries, including the more recent inclusions of the US, Switzerland, Austria and the Gulf Countries. Cricket will also become the part of Olympics, starting 2028 LA Olympics.
History of cricket in Egypt closely follows the history of Indian community here. In the days when Mena House was managed by the Indian Oberoi group, their ground served as a great place for the cricketing aspirations of the community. As the community grew and spread across Egypt, in 2016, the Indian Community Association of Egypt (ICAE) organized the first official cricket tournament involving Indian teams representing various companies owned by Indian business community in Egypt.
Since then, the tournament is being organized every year by the Sports Federation of Indian Community. The most recent edition of the tournament concluded on 7th June 2024, at Bohra Community grounds in 6th of October, where dignitaries and cricket enthusiasts from India as well as other cricketing countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya and the US thronged to watch the nail-biting grand finale between the teams of Ismailia based Embee Group and Giza based Flex P Films.
Braving the hot weather, Egyptian sports enthusiasts also came in large numbers to watch the match. Clearly, cricket could be the next big thing in India-Egypt bilateral relations…!!
