Breaking Boundaries and Scoring Big with the South Asian community

By: Arón Olegnowicz

Oftentimes, people forget that sports and championship titles can hold as much cultural significance as food or art pieces. 

But for the South Asian community at Ohio State, one game is a special driving force of pride, culture, and unity: cricket. Through the OSU Cricket Club (OSUCC), the popular British sport is in full swing — not just on the field, but in campus life.

For Basit Malik, a fourth-year economics major and OSUCC president, “it truly is an honor to be a leader of such a wonderful organization.”

Since his older brother gifted him a bat for his seventh birthday while living in his Pakistani-descendant household, Malik said his adoration for cricket has evolved alongside him   — it’s a love he hopes to spread across the university community. 

“I, along with the rest of the team, consider ourselves the ambassadors of the game,” Malik said. “[I] like to think it is our duty to spread awareness of the game beyond the OSU community.”

Malik explained that, “OSUCC is one of the only clubs on campus that extends its membership to not just students, but any affiliation,” meaning faculty, staff, and alumni are also welcome to join.

“We have OSU staff members, post-doctoral researchers, doctors in the making, undergraduate students with very diverse economic backgrounds,” he said. “But if there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s the love and passion for cricket that brings us all together.”

Even first-year students have felt the energy behind this inclusivity.

“I had never played cricket with other people at a more professional level before,” Shreyas Pullrui, a first-year in psychology and microbiology, said. “This is a great way for me to engage in a sport that I enjoy so much.”

Pulluri was born and raised in Warangal, India until he was 7 years old, and has cherished the life lessons — like learning how to persist through adversity — and the thrill of the game ever since. Through OSUCC, Pulluri said he’s also immersed himself in the Hindi language, thanks to the vast amount of native speakers on the team.

“The university certainly benefits from having such a club, not only to bring notoriety to the skills of our student body, but also to expose people to other languages,” Pulluri, who speaks Telugu — a language largely spoken throughout Southeastern India — said.

Malik said cricket is unique in its ability to develop his identity while fostering connections with other players.

“Cricket, not being so popular like football, basketball, or even baseball, it really allows me to create my own identity by playing and talking about the game,” he said. “There are so many people, even at OSU, who have zero idea of what cricket is, but when I tell them about it they really do seem to enjoy it.”

Whether for first-years like Pulluri, graduating students like Malik, or anyone in the Buckeye community, the timeless friendships, soaring spirit, and cultural appreciation within OSUCC make the cricket experience at Ohio State unforgettable.

“College is said to be a transformative experience, and clubs like this are the exact reason why,” Pulluri said. “They are catalysts for building strong character.”