The story of the inception of cricket in Madras began with the arrival of the East India Company, as it set out to develop coastal regions of India into ports for trade purposes. Madras acted as the gateway to South India and Europeans flocked the city for work opportunities. 

First signs of cricket in Madras were seen in 1792 and the game gained immense popularity among the colonizers by the 1840’s. But till now only the Europeans were playing the game while the native Indians looked from the outside. In 1846, The Europeans established the Madras Cricket Club (MCC) to serve the interests of its European members.

Access to the club was limited to only white members and the Indian players were subjected to second-class treatment. While the Europeans players enjoyed the luxury of the pavilion, Indian players had to take shelter under the tree during lunch. This colonial mindset and authority was challenged by one M. Buchi Babu Naidu.

Naidu came from an influential family of interpreters. He had grown up playing cricket as a leisurely activity at home. Seeing constant exploitation of Indian players was a turning point in his life. He came up with the idea of putting in place a strong club culture which will prepare Indian cricketers to match shoulders with their European counterparts.

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The journey of change began in 1888 with Naidu obtaining a piece of land on the Esplanade, which was converted into a cricket ground. This came to be known as the Madras United Cricket Club (MUC) and had no bars to entry for anyone. Naidu didn’t stop here. He recruited players into the club and provided them with training, high class facilities and cricket equipment.

Slowly but steadily, MUC emerged into a force to reckon with and Naidu was certain that it could compete with the European-only MCC. The fixture was arranged with the help of his friend W.G. Partridge, who was also the captain of the MCC. Not only this, Naidu battled hard for the equal treatment of Indian players. His efforts were rewarded when the Indian players were allowed to have lunch with the Europeans in the MCC pavilion.

Seeing the success of MUC vs MCC matches, Naidu arranged for an annual presidency match between Europeans and Indians. These matches earned the title of ‘Pongal matches’ as they were scheduled during the Pongal festival. Unfortunately, Naidu passed away in 1908 before the first of these fixtures could take place. These matches were organized from 1915-1952 and drew huge crowds due to the festive holidays.

Indians reigned supreme against Europeans in most of these Presidency matches. Cricket in Madras was no longer an English property. Apart from being treated equally and respectfully, Indians who aspired to play the game and challenge the colonial voices now had a robust ecosystem in place. Buchi Babu Naidu’s pioneering efforts made him fondly remembered as the ‘Father of Madras Cricket’.

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