University of Leicester historian helps bring untold story of British Asian cricket to Lord’s
(Credit: Jed Leicester/MCC)
The University of Leicester’s Dr Prashant Kidambi has co-curated a new exhibition at the home of cricket celebrating the impact of the South Asian community to the sport.
'The many worlds of British Asian Cricket' is on display in the Community Gallery at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Museum at Lord’s Cricket Ground.It highlights the stories of British Asian cricket from grassroots to international level.
In a unique feature, the exhibition incorporates the crests of numerous grassroots cricket clubs into its design, as an illustration of the rich mixture of identities expressed by British Asians through cricket.
The exhibition also includes cricket equipment and clothing used by British Asians who have risen to the very top of the game, from Raman Subba Row to Adil Rashid, and by great cricketers from South Asia who came to play club and county cricket in England and inspired new generations.
L-R: Professor Prashant Kidambi, Neil Robinson and Dr Amerdeep Panesar (Credit: Jed Leicester/MCC)
Dr Prashant Kidambi is a Professor of Colonial Urban History at the University of Leicester. He has co-curated ‘The many worlds of British Asian Cricket’ with Dr Amerdeep Panesar and the MCC Heritage & Collections department.
Dr Prashant Kidambi said: “British Asian cricket has been an integral, though often neglected, part of English cricket. By recovering this forgotten story, we hope to enthuse other communities to collect and communicate their own cricketing histories. And there is no better place than the Home of Cricket to present those stories.”
Dr. Amerdeep Panesar said: “The exhibition offers an important window into the incredible and largely untold stories and history of South Asian cricket in England. It is a tribute to the pioneers and communities who turned local parks into sacred ground, weaving the vibrant threads of their heritage into the very fabric of cricket in this country.”
Head of Heritage & Collections at Marylebone Cricket Club, Neil Robinson said: “This exhibition offers a unique insight into a rich cricketing culture that is both South Asian in character and at the same time part of the fabric of English cricket.”
The exhibition, which will now be the starting pointof the famous Lord’s Tour, is scheduled to run until spring 2027. More information about the MCC Museum can be found here.