Painful Pitches: Between Railway Bridge and Mighty Krishna – The Story of Mahanadu XI

Abstract

For many Indians who played cricket in their backyards or whatever little spaces they had in their locality, the red Stumper ball became their ticket to the local version of the game. This form of cricket involved self-created rules, tailored to the available space or the mood of neighbours who may or may not return the ball if it were to land on their field. This photo essay follows the journey of ‘Mahanadu XI’, a group of young men, mostly from subaltern communities, who play cricket on the banks of the Krishna River in Vijayawada. The photographer, driven by his teenage memories as a cricket enthusiast who religiously followed test matches and one-day games on TV, captures their story through a series of interactions spanning three months from April to June 2023.

Citation

Abraham, A. (2024), "Painful Pitches: Between Railway Bridge and Mighty Krishna – The Story of Mahanadu XI", Mani, V. and Krishnamurthy, M. (Ed.) The Postcolonial Sporting Body: Contemporary Indian Investigations (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 20), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 131-141. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420240000020008