When Jitender Premi moved to Bermuda from India he was happy to find an equal love for cricket in his new home.

After learning the game as a young boy in New Delhi, the game has become his “second religion”.

Within a year in Bermuda, he had gathered the Indian community to form a league of their own. The group play every Sunday at Victor Scott.

“When I came here in June 2005, I was very lucky because I had Cup Match,” said the Ruby Murry’s restaurant manager, who has lived on the island for 13 years

“Cricket is like a religion for me. I can live without food, but I can’t live without cricket.” Mr Premi has been playing cricket since he was 11.

He is from Gol Market, a neighbourhood in the heart of New Delhi built within a traffic roundabout.

He and his friends would take over the playground while bystanders watched from their balconies.

“When we couldn’t decide if it was out or not out, we just called the people watching the game to make the decision for us,” he said of the elected umpires.

At the Maurya Sheraton Hotel, he played for the staff cricket team, winning the ITC hotel group’s interhotel tournament in 1993.

It’s a tradition he’s carried with him across the globe.

“Every Indian plays cricket in India — like 99.5 per cent.

“When I came [Bermuda’s Indian community] weren’t playing cricket together, but they loved to watch. We knew that Bermuda has a love for cricket, so we started it together.”

He used to play in the Evening Cricket League with Renegades, but his busy schedule means he saves it for a Sunday, no matter the month.

“I play the whole year. We never stop. Every Sunday whether it’s winter or summer, we play. It’s a religion for us.”

The weekly match is a short one.

“We’re not playing 20, 30 overs. We play six overs. We start game at 8.30 in the morning and finish by 12 because we have to be at work at 3 o’clock. Most of us work all the time, but Sundays are good because we’re closed for lunch.”

Though they change up the teams each week, it remains “quite competitive”.

He said he loves to throw off batsmen with his spin bowling, typically mixing slower balls with speed.

“You don’t know what ball is coming next,” he laughed.

“We play to win. But it’s a good time.”

He said they’ve even managed to recruit some Bermudians to their Sunday club.

His first Cup Match was hosted by St George’s, so his loyalties lie with the East End.

He goes to the game every year.

“I always support St George’s whether they win or lose,” he said.

“I don’t want to miss a Cup Match. It’s like a festival in Bermuda. I’ll watch some of the game, play Crown and Anchor. The second day I’ll go to the beach. I love the people of Bermuda — it’s like my second home.”

As well as celebrating Cup Match, the keen cricketers get together for Hindu events Diwali, the festival of lights, observed every autumn and Holi, the festival of colours, in the spring.

His time on the island has marked some of his best moments in the sport.

“A bad day was when Sachin Tendulkar retired — he’s like the god of cricket in India,” he said.

He said it was even more exciting when Bermuda made international headlines in 2007 after Dwayne “Sluggo” Leverock’s brilliant diving catch to dismiss Indian opener Robin Uthappa during the World Cup in the Caribbean.

“Before nobody knew where Bermuda was. India had a match with the Bermuda team and Leverock had that brilliant catch. After that, Bermuda became very famous in India,” he said.

A better memory is when India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Mumbai to win the World Cup in 2011.

“We were working at House of India at that time and we just came out with our Indian flag [chanting] ‘India! India! India!’

“That was our first time winning the World Cup in 18 years.”