Cricket obsession in India: through the lens of identity theory

Over time, the game of cricket in India has become more than a game, morphing into a symbol of national identity. This article attempts to examine India's obsession with the game of cricket, using identity theory as a lens to understand the multilayered relationship between cricket and the Indian identity. Using social identity theory, and the concept of organizational identity and identification, it is argued that, in the absence of an overarching identity that can connect the various faces of India, cricket serves as a symbolic unifying entity in a nation replete with multiple and conflicting identities.