Most team members do not like picking up calls on weekends and honestly, that is fair enough. Weekends are the time to rest, reset and reclaim a sense of self outside the deadlines, deliverables and dashboards. Still, on every weekend the same people showed up on the cricket ground.

While watching the India vs New Zealand ODI, seeing the players coordinate, backing each other, it became impossible not to draw parallels with team dynamics at work. We started playing cricket for simply competing in Elixr Cup. It did not start as a culture-building initiative. There was no formal plan, no HR mandate and no leadership intervention. A few colleagues, a bat, a ball and a shared interest to compete. As weeks passed, they wanted to play better not individually, but together.

What Cricket Did That Meetings Could Not

Companies spend countless hours trying to build culture through team-building workshops, feedback systems, performance reviews and surveys. With all these structured efforts, culture remains something discussed in rooms more than experienced. Interestingly, something as simple as a weekend cricket game was able to achieve what formal meetings usually struggled with.

Trust Formed Naturally

On the cricket field, trust is immediate and non-negotiable. You trust your teammate to catch the ball you could not reach. You trust the captain’s decision, even if you are unsure. There is no space for overthinking or no room for politics. Trust is built through action and not words. It subtly reshapes how they collaborate back at work making conversations more open and decisions more confident.

Accountability Emerged Without Dashboards

Inside the office, accountability is usually enforced through tools like trackers and performance dashboards. But on the cricket field, accountability is immediate and visible. If you drop a catch, everyone knows. If you miss a run, it impacts the team instantly. But what’s fascinating is how this accountability feels different. It’s collective and no one points fingers. Instead of blame, there is always encouragement, “We’ll get it next time.” You can see that people take ownership not because they are monitored, but because they genuinely want to contribute to the team’s success.

Losing Became a Lesson

Cricket treats failure as part of the game, unlike the emotional weight it often holds at work. Players learn to move on quickly and come back stronger in the next match. This mindset, when carried into the workplace, builds resilience.

Real-Time Feedback Without Formal Reviews

Feedback in the workplace is structured like quarterly reviews and scheduled one-on-ones. While it is necessary, it can sometimes feel delayed or filtered. On the field, feedback is immediate. A “great shot” or a quick suggestion comes in real time, right when it matters the most. This creates a culture where people are more open to both giving and receiving input which I think is an essential trait for high performing teams.

1. Leadership Became Situational

Titles do not matter on the field. The best idea wins. The person with the best perspective in that moment takes the lead. A junior employee might suggest a field change. A senior leader might take advice from someone with better game knowledge. When this mindset transitions into the workplace, it brings collaboration, inclusivity and better decision-making.

Beyond Cricket: A New Way to Think About Culture

Teams across different cities began organising their own practice sessions. The cricket field became a neutral space where roles were blurred and people connected as individuals first, professionals second. This experience challenges a common assumption that culture is something you design in conference rooms. But it’s not true, it comes from shared experiences, moments where people struggle together, win together, fail together and learn together. Cricket just happened to be our medium. For another team, it might be music sessions, book clubs, volunteer work etc.

Now, we are thinking bigger. From internal matches to inter-tech tournaments, we are seeing it as a platform for connection, collaboration and growth. Because teams that learn coordination under pressure on a field tend to show up calmer, sharper, and more human at work. We are not building culture in meeting rooms. We are building it through sweat under the sun, missed catches and second chances and showing up again next Sunday.

What’s something you have built within your team, outside of work, that changed how people show up at work?

Sometimes, the most impactful changes do not come from strategy or any leadership frameworks. They can come from something as simple as a game, a bat, a ball and few people who choose to show up.