You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Cricket has become more popular than national sports in many subcontinental countries. What do you think are the reasons behind this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
[Note: This essay topic would probably never be given to IELTS candidates who are outside of the subcontinent. So don’t worry if you are hesitant about how to approach it considering that you are not from a country located in the subcontinent.]
Sample Answer
Undoubtedly, cricket is the most popular sport in subcontinental countries because there is hardly any part of this region where cricket is not played and relished. Though they have their national sports, cricket has gained far more popularity. Hereby, I will throw some light on some of the possible reasons behind this phenomenon.
The predominant reason for cricket being so popular among subcontinental nations is that this sport was introduced to them by the British during the colonial period. Most countries in this area became familiar with the rules and regulations of this game and started playing it and then ultimately becoming proficient in it. Moreover, these developing nations have imitated English culture for a long, whether it is style, language and sport, and the importance of the English language in these countries is convincing enough evidence of the fact that whatever was introduced by the English in their occupied countries continued to be flourished.
Moving further, national sports like hockey, Kabaddi, Volleyball and so on have limited international tournaments, whereas cricket has various events like ICC Cricket World Cup, IPL, Ashes Series, ICC World Twenty-20 and many more. Therefore, cricket gets a lot more media coverage than any other national games in these countries. As a result, everyone has a special affinity towards cricket and cricketers as well, especially youngsters who have a profound passion for this sport. Teams like India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have been world champions multiple times while others are emerging powers in cricket. So it is only natural that they have a huge number of fans who enjoy cricket as a sport.
To recapitulate, cricket dominates the sports world, particularly in countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa, which have gone through the influence of English culture during the English colonial era and where this sport is considered a part of national pride due to their success and fanbase.
[Written by – Neha Sharma]
Tips for this Essay Planning and Writing
Reasons why cricket is more popular than national sports in many countries in the subcontinent.
Reason 1: Cricket gets much wider media coverage and has international events and championships while many national and traditional sports in the subcontinent have only limited exposure.
Reason 2: Less than a quarter of the total population (sometimes even fewer) are interested in their national sports in such countries while almost 80% of them like to watch different cricket tournaments.
Reason 3: While the national cricket teams in such countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and West Indies have won the world championships, their teams of national sports have little or no achievements in the international arena. Consequently, people tend to support the winning teams more often than their teams who play national sports.
Reason 4: Media attention that the cricketers in these countries enjoy made them celebrities and starts to the public eyes. And any win in the cricket ground is regarded as huge and celebrated with pomp and show.
Reason 5: National and traditional games are played by only a handful number of people in these countries while cricket is widely played by children and adults alike.
Reason 6: Cricket, as a sport, was introduced to those nations almost 200 years ago during the English colonial era. In order to keep up with the British, people in these countries started adopting the game and started playing it ever since.
Reason 7: Different TV channels in the subcontinent area broadcast cricket competitions all day long while there is scarcely any TV channel that broadcast local and traditional games, unless, of course, there are important tournaments. As a result, people have started enjoying cricket more than their national sports.
Reason 8: Star cricketers are paid a huge sum of money while players of local and national sports are paid poorly. It has commercial and political reasons but it is only natural that youngsters would like to take up sports that have better potential. It goes without saying that the popularity of the sport is definitely due to the economic benefit it generates.
Reason 9: Citizens of subcontinental countries have a remarkable inclination toward cricket than any other sports. They consider cricket more important than any other sports.
Reason 10: Successful sportsmen become idols for people, especially youngsters, which in turn converts them either into fans or prospective players. Subcontinental countries have produced many such legendary cricket players over the years and they still influence people to enjoy cricket.
Note: Can you think of any other reason why cricket is more popular than national sports in many subcontinental countries? Please share it with us and our readers by leaving a comment. Thank you in advance.