Home and away feel for India team on tour in England

Paul Radley discovers that immigrants from subcontinent are British at heart, but choose to support sides from their countries of origin

With stars such as Yuvraj Singh, India have become a dominant force in the last two decades.

As MS Dhoni battled the jet lag and tried to recall exactly which ground he was playing at when India started their tour of the UK in Somerset two weeks ago, he was met with a question that was a variation of a well-established theme.

"Bearing in mind the majority of Lord's will be supporting India next week," the captain was asked, "how great is it to have all that support?"

From an English perspective, the inquiry seemed a little presumptuous. Why should India be better supported than England on home soil? And at Lord's, of all grounds, where a large amount of tickets are available only to an exclusive few, anyway?

Such certainty was well-founded, however. In particular on People's Monday, it felt like an away game for England.

"We know that we have a fair amount of support when it comes to England," Dhoni said on the eve of the first Test.

"It was quite visible when we played the T20 World Cup [in 2009] over here, especially when we played the practice match against Pakistan.

"When the going gets tough and you want a wicket, that extra support from the crowd can really get you going for a prolonged period of time."

Cricket is the only sport in which England and India regularly cross paths in competition. British Indian sports fans can happily choose to support the England football team, for example, without provoking a conflict of loyalty.

But in cricket, they have to make a choice. On the evidence of this week at Lord's, the majority favour India.

Goodness knows what Norman Tebbit would make of it. Back in 1990, the then MP for Chingford said, perhaps surprisingly via the outlet of an American newspaper, that the majority of British-born Asians would fail the "Cricket Test".

"Are you still harking back to where you came from, or where you are?" Tebbit asked back then, suggesting British Asians usually chose not to support the team from country where they were living.

In a recent BBC radio show in which he assessed the relevance of Tebbit's barometer, Paul Sinha, a London-born Indian comedian, suggested Tebbit was wide of the mark.

"It wasn't a large proportion of Britain's Asians - it was all of them," Sinha said in his show. "I was definitely one of them, and yet at no stage in my life had I considered myself unpatriotic."

Crowds at international matches involving India are definitely infused with more colour now than they were in 1990 - the pertinent one being the blue of their national team's one-day shirt - rather than the blue of England's.

In the intervening 21 years, India have grown to become the dominant force in the game. As such, they attract supporters on the basis not just of national ties.

It was intriguing to see even white Englishmen at the Lord's Test wearing India shirts with "Dhoni" and "Tendulkar" written across the back.

Some people might have considered them unpatriotic, others would suggest they have the right to choose who they want to cheer.

Meanwhile, a number of British Indians in the stands were wearing England football shirts, some with Steven Gerrard's No 4 on the back, or caps bearing the Three Lions of the England cricket team.

"Support who you like, just don't be a bigot about it," Sinha said. "I don't really know [who I support] anymore, and the truth is it is an absolutely lovely position to be in."

Sinha recalled a trip he made to Dubai last year, when he observed that British expatriates continued to support traditional English teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United, rather than local Arab teams - "like Arsenal and Manchester City," he joked.

It is an interesting point. How many long-established expatriates in Dubai or Abu Dhabi would consider supporting the UAE over their own home nation? Barely any, it would be safe to assume.

But then few ever assume UAE citizenship, unlike in Britain. Does that make a difference, or should it, even? "I am British now, a naturalised citizen," Shan Kandasamy, who left his east London home at 5.45am on Monday to make sure he got in for the final day of the Test, said.

The 37 year old has lived in the UK for eight years, after emigrating from his native Tamil Nadu. Although he was passionate in his support of India at Lord's, he does have a strong affiliation to England, too.

"Of course I am an India fan, because it is very hard to stop doing what you have grown up doing for 30 years," he said. "But if it is anyone other than India facing England, I am always for England."

Follow

The National Sport

on

& Paul Radley on