Prof. Thirunavakkarasu and Pandit Vishwanatha Shastri have submitted a secret paper to the Prime Minister which proves India invented cricket during Mahabharata times.
This sensational discovery could not be revealed earlier as it would have unnecessarily distracted India's World Cup campaign.
Tracing a lead in Shilappadikaram, the scholars researched rare manuscripts in Bhandarkar Institute Pune and discovered that during Mahabharata, Bhima and Arjuna invented cricket when they got a sabbatical trip to Swargaloka. Everyone knows how Arjuna spurned Urvashi's advances and in turn was cursed to behave like a eunuch and teach dance later on to Uttara. During the same visit to Swarga, a bored Bhima used his gada to play left arm spin bowling from Arjuna on an idle sunny afternoon. Sage Agasthya spotted them and said lo, we have the makings of a grand game here!
Vishnu and Shiva led the two teams. Bhima, Manmatha, Vashishta, Narada, Indra and Vayu were in Vishnu's team. Shiva had Kumara, Ganesha, Agni, Nandi, Arjuna and Vishwamitra. VIshwamitra opened the pace attack. Arjuna like Gary Sobers could bowl left arm and bat right-handed. Bhima hit many sixes. Vishnu played a captain's knock down the order and ran cheeky singles. You can even now see he needs Lakshmi's leg massage often. Brahma, who was trikala gyani, was the umpire who needed no referral system.
Just when the match was going great Durvasa appeared. He was livid that Ashwini kumaras were not included in the teams. He cursed that the game should be forgotten forever. Narada interceded and won a concession that the game's heavenly origins would come to light when India won a world competition on home soil.
Incredible!? Kreekata in Sanskrit means a game played with girded loins (they had to tie their flowing angavastra around the waist). Vaara was one 7 ball cycle which became 'over'. When a batsman was caught (the only way to get out) he had to untie the waist cloth - vikata.
A British scholar took the idea from the Pune library in 18th century.
