Wouldn’t it be bizarre to not find farm lands when you’re in the countryside? Well, this is not a rarity when you’re heading to Baliyawas, approximately 13 km away from Huda City Centre. And what strikes the eye more is how these agricultural lands have been beautifully transformed into lush green cricket grounds.
In the second innings of their life, farmers in Baliyawas and Kadarpur have hit a terrific strike by converting agricultural lands into high quality cricket grounds. Rishi Raj, a journalist by profession and an entrepreneur by nature, is one of the pioneers who initiated this endeavor. He belongs to an agricultural family and has been involved with the game since his young days.
“The lands here are infertile, and therefore, agricultural activities are almost impossible.”Rishi Raj
The corporate culture of Gurugram is one of the major reasons behind the development of this growing business. “The whole week you crunch numbers and you are in between numbers. And on weekends, you just enjoy the set here” says Nischay, a corporate cricketer who works in finance sector.
“We started this concept keeping in mind the corporate craze for cricket in Gurugram. We started with two grounds, and now we have five to six grounds.” says Rishi Raj.
Usually, around four acres of land is required to make one cricket ground. Farmers give the land on lease to organisers and earn Rs 3,20,000 yearly from one ground and an organiser invests Rs 14-15 lakh on developing a ground. They earn Rs 10,000-12,000 from one match. They organise around two-three matches in a day. Thus making Rs 24,000-36,000 a day.
If a farmer earns a profit of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 in a year from farming, he makes almost double the amount in this business.Rishi Raj
This novel cricket culture has built a brilliant ecosystem around the area. The village locals have also made a living through ancillary jobs that have been created. “Almost 20-25 people earn from one ground. This includes groundsmen, umpires, scorers, canteen owners etc,” says Rishi Raj.
Shashank, a student runs his canteen during the weekends. “We all need some money in college. So I come here on weekends and run my canteen,” says Shashank.
Amidst the corporate cricket culture that has been created, several cricket academies have also been established, which provide a platform to budding cricketers. Few academies even provide free of cost training to kids who can't afford to pay.
“Earning money and then spending it on a club in Connaught Place or in Gurugram is not as satisfying. You’re getting the same adrenaline rush that you require by playing cricket and the money is going in the hands of people who actually need it.”Rishab, Corporate Cricketer
Director of Photography: Athar Rather
Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan
Producer: Vivek Das