Filmmakers have been motivated by cricket, which is regarded as a religion in many areas of the world, to depict its excitement, drama, and emotion on a large scale. These films illustrate the commitment, tenacity, and friendship that characterize the sport and encapsulate its spirit. These films emphasize the journeys of players, the strategic fights on the field, and the emotional rollercoaster that cricket fans go through through gripping storytelling and appealing performances. They are a must-watch for every fan of cricket since they not only glorify the game but also explore the emotional and professional hardships of those involved.

1. Sachin: A Billion Dreams (2017)

Under the production companies of Carnival Motion Pictures and 200 NotOut Productions, Ravi Bhagchandka and Shrikant Bhasi produced the 2017 Indian trilingual sports documentary Sachin: A Billion Dreams, which was directed by James Erskine. The movie is a documentary on Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar’s life. It provides extensive data on Tendulkar’s cricket career and personal life in addition to revealing some never-before-seen or heard about areas of his life.

The film, which was concurrently shot in Marathi, Hindi, and English, was released on May 26, 2017, along with the Telugu and Tamil dubbings. In Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Odisha, this movie was deemed tax-free. At the box office, the movie made an average amount of money.

2. M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016)

Neeraj Pandey is the director and co-writer of the 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. It is based on the life of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian national cricket team in Test, ODI, and T20 matches. The late Sushant Singh Rajput plays MS Dhoni in the movie, with Anupam Kher, Kiara Advani, and Disha Patani. Through a number of life experiences, the film covers Dhoni’s life from an early age.

Following the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, Dhoni’s manager, Arun Pandey, encountered an event at an airport and came up with the concept for the biography. Two years later, development got under way with Dhoni’s permission. While working on Baby, Neeraj Pandey was later invited to direct the movie. Pandey enlisted a large group of individuals to do background and life events study on Dhoni. In the end, Dhoni worked as a consultant on the movie.

Fox Star Studios premiered the movie on September 30, 2016, and it was the most widely seen Bollywood film ever, opening in 61 countries. It was dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi in addition to being released in Hindi; however, the Marathi release was eventually canceled owing to objections. After its premiere, the movie gained both critical and financial acclaim. At ₹215.48 crore (US$26 million), it is the sixth-highest grossing Indian movie globally and the fifth-highest grossing Bollywood movie of 2016.

3. Ghoomer (2023)

R. Balki is the writer and director of Ghoomer (lit. ‘Spinner‘), an Indian Hindi-language sports drama film from 2023. Shabana Azmi, Angad Bedi, Saiyami Kher, and Abhishek Bachchan are the main actors in it.

Anina “Ani” Dixit, a promising young batting prodigy, has a rare accident that results in the loss of her right hand. But in the shape of bowling, uncaring and unsuccessful test cricketer Padam “Paddy” Singh Sodhi offers her fresh hope. He uses unusual training methods to help her change her bowling destiny. Their new invention, spinning, is also known as “Ghoomer” bowling. With fewer than ten months remaining, can Anina qualify and earn a spot on the Indian women’s bowling team?

On August 12, 2023, the movie made its world premiere as the opening feature at the 12th Indian Film Festival in Melbourne. On August 18, 2023, it was released in theaters in India. The movie was nominated for three awards at the 69th Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor (Critics) for Bachchan and Best Supporting Actress for Azmi.

4. Jersey (2021)

Jersey is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri. It is a remake of his 2019 Telugu film of the same name and marks Tinnanuri’s first Hindi directorial effort. Along with Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapoor, it stars Shahid Kapoor as a former cricket player who returns to the game to fulfil his son’s demand to purchase a Jersey T-Shirt. Geetha Arts, Dil Raju Production, Sithara Entertainments, and Brat Films are the producers of the movie.

The movie’s official announcement was made in October 2019. With delays due to the COVID-19 epidemic, principal photography in Chandigarh began in December 2019 and concluded in December 2020. Jersey was supposed to hit theaters on August 28, 2020, but the COVID-19 epidemic caused many postponements. On April 22, 2022, the movie was released in theaters. Jersey did not do well at the box office, even though Shahid Kapoor’s acting was praised and the film received excellent reviews from reviewers.

5. Iqbal (2005)

Nagesh Kukunoor is the director and co-writer of the 2005 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age sports drama film Iqbal. Produced under “Mukta Searchlight Films” by Subhash Ghai, the tale follows a deaf and mute youngster from a rural Indian town who is enamored with cricket and sets out to overcome obstacles in order to become a cricket player and realise his ambition of playing for the Indian national cricket team. The movie took up the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award.

In honor of the 70th anniversary of Indian Independence Day, the film was shown retrospectively on August 18, 2016, at the Independence Day Film Festival, which was co-presented by the Ministry of Defense and the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals.

According to Vinayak Chakraborty of Hindustan Times, the film is Kukunoor’s greatest work. He also praised the performances of Talpade and Shah, pointing out that the former “achieves what many seasoned actors often fail to do — he makes you forget it’s actually an act.” The movie’s popularity guaranteed Nagesh Kukunoor, the director, a lucrative career. The movie was chosen as one of the Top Ten Hindi Movies for Training and Inspirational Content.

6. 83 (2021)

Kabir Khan is the writer and director of the 2021 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film 83, which is also produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Deepika Padukone, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, and Khan. It was co-written by Khan, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, Vasan Bala, and Sumit Arora and is based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning Indian national cricket team captained by Kapil Dev. The ensemble cast includes Ranveer Singh, Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa, and R. Badree.

In mid-July 2016, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, the original owner of the film’s rights, and Madhu Mantena, Phantom Films’ co-producer, met the Indian squad of 1983 and its captain Kapil Dev in person, and they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to produce the official biography. Reliance Entertainment co-financed the film in September 2017 and made the formal announcement of the biopic featuring Singh and Khan as members of the winning squad. After a protracted casting and pre-production phase, main photography on the movie started on June 5, 2019. Over the course of three months, the film was primarily shot in and around England, with a brief stopover in India, and it was completed on October 7.

83 earned 14 nominations for the 67th Filmfare Awards, including Best Director (Khan), Best Supporting Actor (Tripathi), and Best Male Playback Singer (Arijit Singh for “Lehra Do”). Ranveer Singh won Best Actor, while Munir won Best Lyricist.

7. Patiala House (2011)

Nikkhil Advani is the director of the 2011 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film Patiala House, which has leading performances by Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Akshay Kumar, and Anushka Sharma. Bhushan Kumar, Mukesh Talreja, Krishan Kumar, and Twinkle Khanna produced it under the auspices of Credence Motion Pictures, People Tree Films, and Hari Om Entertainment. The movie came out on February 11, 2011. On December 24, 2010, Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan made her cinematic trailer debut. The quick bowler Akshay plays is modeled after cricket player Monty Panesar. The promotional designer Rahul Nanda, son of writer Gulshan Nanda, came up with the concept for the movie.

Parghat Singh Kahlon, often known as Gattu or Kaali, is the protagonist of the tale. He is leading the life that his father, Gurtej Singh Kahlon, selected for him. Although Gurtej would never allow Gattu to join the England squad, the cricket player showed talent and aspired to play for his country. Gurtej had before vowed to take his own life. Despite being the best kid in the home, his siblings detested him. Prior to the arrival of Zeeshan and his stepsister Simran, he was living alone and had few acquaintances. Gattu’s boyhood pal Simran had been gone for a long time.

8. Azhar (2016)

Anthony D’Souza (billed as Tony D’Souza) is the director of the 2016 Indian Hindi biographical sports drama film Azhar. The life of Indian cricketer and former captain of the national team Mohammad Azharuddin served as inspiration for the narrative. Emraan Hashmi plays the lead in the Sony Pictures Networks production, which is produced by Shobha and Ekta Kapoor. On May 13, 2016, the movie was released globally. With a budget of ₹380 million, the movie did poorly at the box office, earning only ₹508 million in revenue. The movie was criticized as well for its fictitious account of historical events.

In May 2015, filming got underway. The film has been shot on a number of cricket fields in the United Kingdom, including Harleyford Manor, Virginia Water, Mayfield Lavender Farm, and Windsor, as well as at Lord’s, The Oval, Edgbaston, St Lawrence Ground, and County Ground, Derby.

The movie’s first schedule was finished in London in October 2015, and its second schedule was finished in Hyderabad as well.

9. Say Salaam India (2007)

Say Salaam India is a 2007 Hindi-language sports drama film starring Sanjay Suri, Milind Soman, Anuj Pandit Sharma, and Sandhya Mridul. It was written and directed by Subhash Kapoor. The four lads in the movie are centered around their love of the sport.

The movie opens with Viru, Mahi, Shakeel, and Guri, four lads who strive against their lack of resources and circumstances in order to follow their passion for cricket. Meanwhile, Hari Sadu, a cricket coach at the prestigious Royal Heritage School in the state capital, is tasked with leading the team to win its sixth state championship. However, the skilled but unmotivated players on the squad oppose his methods. Tension between the coach and the players results in Hari Sadu being falsely accused and removed by the board of directors. Harry Oberoi, a dapper fixer from the cricket world who fits the school’s image and status, takes Hari Sadu’s place.

Hari Sadu, with the support of his wife Sonali and his son Rustam who has cerebral palsy, is committed to assembling a local team to participate in the Inter-School Challenge. Overcoming several obstacles, he transforms the local corporate school’s wrestling squad into a cricketing eleven and competes against the Royal Heritage School in the Inter-School Challenge. Despite their modest upbringing and lack of finances, the lads had innate skill and a strong love for cricket.

10. Kai Po Che! (2013)

Kai Po Che!: Brothers… For Life (literally, “I have cut the kite”) is a 2013 buddy sports drama film in Hindi that was directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by UTV Motion Pictures’ Siddharth Roy Kapur and Ronnie Screwvala. It was the banner’s first independent production under the Disney UTV brand. The film, which is an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s 2008 novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life, stars Rajkummar Rao, Amit Sadh, and rookie Sushant Singh Rajput as the three major characters, with Amrita Puri as the female lead. Amit Trivedi composed the three songs on the soundtrack, which was penned by Swanand Kirkire. The phrase “I have cut” in the title originally came from Gujarati, and it alludes to Makar Sankranti, or Uttarayan as it is called there, when a contestant uses his kite to chop off another opponent’s kite and cry the phrase.

The film Kai Po Che! is set in Ahmedabad between 2000 and 2012 and centers on three friends who want to open their own sports shop and academy: Ishaan “Ish” Bhatt (Rajput), Omkar “Omi” Shastri (Sadh), and Govind “Govi” Patel (Rao). The film also explores the events of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the 2002 Godhra train burning, and the 2002 Gujarat Riots. The movie follows their close connection as well as how their youth was ruined by hateful groups and political ideologies. On February 13, 2013, the film made its international premiere at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. It was the first Indian film to be shown in the international Panorama section.