Indians defy odds to keep game alive
MONTEVIDEO: Every Sunday, close to a statue of Indian Independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, a group of Indian expats take over a patch of land in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo for a game of cricket. Although cricket was first played in Montevideo by British expat workers even before the foundation of the independent republic in 1828, its practice died out in the 1980s.
But following an influx of Indian immigrants to Uruguay at the turn of the century, cricket steadily returned to Montevideo.
First there were one-off matches. Then, the players organised their own league and even set up a national team. At the end of last year, Uruguay, made up mostly of Indian expats, finished second in the South American championships in Colombia.
While the cricketers are now established on their little patch of land, their initial appearance was not entirely welcomed by local footballers playing on an adjacent pitch. The issue was quickly resolved, though, and the cricketers agreed to start playing only once the football matches had finished. “We’re looking for a permanent ground,” said Beerbal Maniyattukudy, the Uruguayan cricket association’s secretary. “We have 120 players this year.”
The solution may lie with Uruguay’s most popular football team: Penarol which started life as Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (CURCC), founded by British railway workers in 1891.
It was a multisport club -- but just over 20 years later, its football section broke off and was absorbed by a new team, Penarol. The original club’s cricket section disappeared as football became the main focus -- but it was relaunched a week ago.
And crucially, Penarol are planning to build a cricket pitch an hour outside Montevideo.