Every time the Indians and the West Indians have clashed on the cricket field, it has resulted in complex rivalry. It has also been a meeting of people, ethnicities, and, in many ways , because of the complicated history and intertwined culture, a reunion. Is it just cricketing reasons that the visiting Indian teams have always performed better in Guyana and Trinidad, the two Caribbean countries where they are greeted by enthusiastic descendants of the former Indian indentured labourers?

Through the decades, the histories – cricketing and otherwise – of India and the various Caribbean nations that make up the cricket-playing West Indies have gone through several upheavals. There have been highs and lows on one side, and lows and highs on the other. Connecting the cricketing theme there has always been the story of people, and the complex ethnic and racial undercurrents that have left their mark on...