The Power of the Bharat Army

The Power of the Bharat Army

As Team India prepares for the WTC Final, Rakesh Patel assembles his troops for the Kia Oval. "What we have now can't stop," said Patel, the founder of the Bharat Army - Team India's rabid support group - one of the biggest fan groups in the world.

The Manchester United Structure
Rakesh built B.A. in the image of Manchester United. The 25-year season ticket holder shared, "You'll see a lot of similarities in terms of how I've structured our membership scheme similarly to how the football clubs structure their schemes." Those similarities also make their way to the stands: "...a lot of our songs also are born from football clubs."

The scheme is working. "Every time India plays, the Bharat Army have between 5,000 and 6,000 fans in the stadium, which is sometimes around a third of the total crowd," Patel told Al Jazeera.

Back of the napkin math: £117 estimated ticket price x 6,000 fans x 5 days= £3.51M in ticket sales + merch + food & beverage.

"When I started in 1999, there was no commercial objective whatsoever. I was making good money, so it was purely for the love of the game and the love of the country… If money is the driver behind what we do, then I'm doing something wrong." 

Okay, so you can understand why the BCCI might demand a more significant piece of the pie if the fans turn out, as Patel suggests.

The fastest fingers on WhatsApp
When they're not banging drums or heckling TTY on IG [we thought we were fair to Arjun Tendulkar], WhatsApp is where the Bharat Army plots their next moves.

A word of warning
In a BBC interview five years ago, Patel shared his outlook for the 2023 Cricket World Cup: "If there's 60,000 in the stadium, I want them to all be members of the Bharat Army."

At this point, that seems likely. However, without a CWC fixture schedule released yet, it'd be wise for the ICC to get moving quickly because the Bharat Army needs to organise. The ICC should try WhatsApp.

*TTY interview has been edited for clarity and length

In the early 1930s, Harry Beck sent his new design to London's Underground Electric Railways Publicity Office. Little did he know then that a hundred years later, we'd still rely on essentially the same map for the London Tube. Beck's creation was a work of art.

The brilliance of the Underground Map lies in its omissions. Beck discarded superfluous London features and landmarks, concentrating solely on the vital information that guided passengers toward their destinations with clarity and efficiency.

Cricket needs its own Harry Beck.
Fans coming down from the IPL will get their next fix of Kohli & Gill as they take on Labuschagne & Cummins at the Oval this week.

T20 mode to Test mode
So let's get this straight while we were watching County Cricket, we might have also caught a few IPL overs before WTC Final with The Ashes to follow.

Debate continues, but game on!
Gideon Haigh masterfully questioned the 'darker art' of cricket scheduling in his latest piece for The Australian (subscription), pointing out, "There is virtually no lead-in for expectation to build; there is no pause afterwards to savour its events or significance… You must squint in such a way as to overlook that the World Test Championship itself is bonkers."

While the T20 v. Test Cricket debate rages on, fans continue to pilgrimage, stream, turn out to pubs, and rip players on social media. Purists can complain, but they'll be watching…if they can find it.

The Slip Corden

• An England Ashes Update
  Bummer news for Jack Leach, who was ruled out of The Ashes with a stress fracture in his back. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes appears ready to go even though Stokes became the first captain to neither bat or bowl in a Test victory. Most impressive was Ben Duckett, who beat Don Bradman's record to the fastest 150 runs when England welcomed Ireland at Lords.
  

• Fancy meeting you here
  Look who TTY Editor-at-Large Angus Wilson bumped into at the FA Cup this weekend. King Kohli and Gill were making the rounds trying to get some of that Man City luck ahead of the finals.