There’s a good crossover between the best Rugby nations and the best Cricketing nations; I’m assuming this is down to good old fashioned British colonialism?
Which leads me to wonder why Rugby never gained the same level of support in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as it did in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Fiji.
Or am I totally wrong and the two things aren’t remotely related?
No idea about in India, but it’s probably the same reason rugby wasn’t popular in England for a long time.
It was a game played by the rich. And not really watched by anyone else.
When most people worked manual labor, and there was no health insurance or safety net, even just “normal” injuries like a sore back for a couple days stopped you from working, so you didn’t get paid.
Soccer was what the lower classes paid, and why flopping became a thing. Even a minor injury had effects on someone’s life.
So when India was a colony, very few could play. But cricket (I think) doesn’t have many injuries.