Through infrastructure finance and corporate sponsorship, Beijing is quietly cultivating ties across cricket’s periphery. India, which currently dominates cricket both on the field and in its administration, need not be alarmed—but it should recognise the strategic implications of these developments. More importantly, the core question is why New Delhi has not been able to translate its control over cricket into sustained diplomatic leverage.
The Communist Party of China and its General Secretary Xi Jinping have stressed the importance of sports competitions in China’s modernisation and ascendance to the status of a “great power.” As part of this approach, China has focused even on a sport that Indians consider quintessentially their own—cricket. As cricket returns to the Summer Olympics in 2028 after more than a century, China’s General Administration of Sport—the central government agency governing sports in the country—has highlighted efforts to strengthen Chinese cricket in preparation. India currently dominates cricket both on the field and in its administration, and Indians might not consider China a serious challenger. Yet it is worth recalling that China, which has less of a footballing history than India does, is today ranked higher than the latter and has steadily improved its position in international hockey as well. Chinese women’s teams are already ranked higher than their Indian counterparts in both sports. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have emerged as major international sponsors and promoters. Cricket, therefore, could become a new arena where China begins to challenge India’s dominance, even if indirectly for now.