Sports

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in Bangalore. A significant number of national cricketers have come from Bangalore, including former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid, current test captain Anil Kumble and Robin Uthappa (others). Many children play gully cricket on the roads and in the city's many public fields. Bangalore's main international cricket stadium is the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 40,000[70] and has hosted matches during the 1987 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Premier Hockey League (PHL) franchise Bangalore Hi-fliers are based in the city. India's Davis Cup team members, Mahesh Bhupathi[71] and Rohan Bopanna[72] also reside in Bangalore. The city hosts the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Bangalore Open tournament annually. Beginning September, 2008, Bangalore will also host the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open ATP tournament annually.[73] Bangalore has a number of elite clubs, like the Bangalore Golf Club, the Bowring Institute and the exclusive Bangalore Club, which counts among its previous members Winston Churchill and the Maharaja of Mysore.