The rise of the Bharat Army: "Virat Kohli has set an example to the rest of India"

What began prior to the 1999 World Cup as an official supporters’ group has ballooned into Indian cricket’s largest global collective

Wherever India find themselves playing over the next month, they will be supported by billions. That much has always been a given. It comes with the territory in a country – and a national consciousness – where cricket means everything and represents even more.

It is why it hardly merited a footnote when 20,000 Indians packed out The Oval to witness their heroes taking part in a World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand. Quite simply, that is what they do; it is part of a long-held culture and part of an unfailing commitment from disciples to idols. Win, lose or draw, it is the principal term of an unconditional contract.

There is no sports team on earth with more popularity; no other side entrusted by so many with the flying of their flag; no cricketing entity laying beneath a cloud of greater pressure and expectation.

And that, in many ways, gave the Bharat Army its raison d’etre. As Virat Kohli’s band of superstars descend on Southampton, London, Nottingham – both up and down the United Kingdom, they will be followed by a legion of unique fans: a tangible representation of the billions around the world.

What began prior to the 1999 World Cup as an official supporters’ group has ballooned into Indian cricket’s largest global collective. With 11,000 devoted members following their side around the world, a huddle of travelling fans have created a commercial monster.

Its trajectory – with little coincidence – has tailed that of the team it worships; the professionalisation of the Bharat Army has mirrored that of Kohli’s charges; a team once derided for its lack of fitness and abject fielding is now viewed as a golden precedent.

Of course, this was never really the plan: it is a beast born out of the passion project of Rakesh Patel.

^{Kohli has been key in the growth of the Bharat Army.}

“The objective was always just to support the Indian cricket team around the world, wherever they travel,” he chuckles. “It just so happens that over the years, our fanbase has grown and now we have thousands of fans who travel with us around the world.”

These days, Patel employs 26 members of staff, while an entire team of logistical staff have flown over from India to manage World Cup operations. If the Barmy Army have provided the template, then it is one that its Indian equivalent has no qualms in following.

He cites Kohli – a driving force in the notion of ‘new India’ – as central to the organisation’s rapid rise. It is a concept, heightened by the increase in disposable income of Indian fans, that has whetted the appetite of a generation of fans.

“I think Kohli has set the standard in many aspects,” he explains. “I don’t just mean in terms of performance, but particularly in terms of how he prepares himself for a match and how he looks after himself and conditions himself.

“In many ways, he has brought a western approach to the way that he prepares himself, particularly from a fitness perspective. In years gone by, you would always see very fit Australia and England teams and they would generally be a lot fitter than the India team.

“He has definitely set an example to the rest of India in terms of what you can achieve.”

Tellingly, Kohli is a keen supporter of the group. He sent a congratulatory message on social media as the Bharat Army celebrated its 20th birthday. In a nation where fans follow their individual stars as much as their wider teams, there can be few better marks of credibility.

“We are judged on how valued you are by the players who you support,” he says of his barometer. “The best testimony that we have had is from the players themselves and how much value they attach to how we support them.

“We have always said that we support our team unconditionally, whether they win, lose or draw. I think that’s one of the things they value the most – that even when India weren’t doing so well, we still turned up in huge numbers and still supported the team.”

India were Champions Trophy runners-up in 2017.

Unlike the Barmy Army, the Bharat Army was founded beyond the borders of the country is supports. Patel is British Asian and works as a partner at a recruitment firm, although he admits he may soon have a difficult career decision to make.

Brand Bharat has outgrown the realms of his initial imagination. As the World Cup has crept up on the man responsible for many of India’s staunchest followers, he has been sleeping for two hours – bed at 2am, up at 4am.

What sounds a hardship, though, is anything but. The culture behind the fandom of Indian cricket is a source of fascination in itself. The Bharat Army has allowed second and third generation Indians all over the world to align themselves to a united front.

“Wherever you travel around the world when you watch India play, in some regions like the West Indies, you see Indians travelling and attending in huge numbers,” Patel reflects. “In Australia, New Zealand or even South Africa, you get second or third generation Indians, who still support India out there as well.

“I think it’s massive. What we have managed to do is create a bit more of a unified voice in the stands, put a bit more organisation into the team through an official fan group. Most important is the atmosphere and experience we bring in the stadium.

“If you want that kind of atmosphere, then you join the Bharat Army. That’s what we are famous for. That’s what people enjoy in the stands. That more than anything has led to our growth.”

In a cricketing universe altered on its axis by the emergence and growth of the Indian Premier League and all the razzmatazz that accompanies the sport’s own take on Bollywood, these fan armies – both Barmy and Bharat – remain a necessary throwback.

Songs, chants, drums, the unmistakable colours of India: they are the makings of a cricketing atmosphere that the IPL cannot – and is not designed – to create.

"They are there for a quick fix, for the experience, for the atmosphere as opposed to the cricket itself," he says of he crowd brought in by the IPL.

When the Women’s World Cup came to England in 2017 and India reached the final, it was the Indian faithful whose unshakeable enthusiasm left Lord’s shaking, even in defeat. The Bharat Army wrote to the MCC to get permission to bring drums to the famous old venue. Their agreement – tentative at first – would ultimately result in one of the ground’s most unique, unforgettable days.

For Patel, it was a dream occasion. The ultimate objective, however, remains four years away when the World Cup returns to India. It is a bold ambition, but then the last two decades have provided a rare level of confidence.

“In an ideal world,” he says, “if there are 110,000 Indian cricket fans in the new stadium that’s being built in Ahmedabad, which is going to be the biggest stadium in the world, I would want every single one of those individuals to be in some way associated with the Bharat Army.

“That would be a very nice objective and a great vision to work towards. I think it’s very much achievable.”

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk