top of page

By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 7:24:18 pm

Domestic Cricket: The Road to Team India

India needs a clear selection policy that establishes consistent standards for newcomers and established stars alike. Indian cricket’s domestic circuit has often been described as the foundation on which the national team is built. Yet, there is a need to reinforce a fundamental principle: a place in Team India must be earned through performance, not protected by reputation. Domestic cricket must remain the most credible proving ground for aspiring players, established stars, dropped...

Domestic Cricket: The Road to Team India

India needs a clear selection policy that establishes consistent standards for newcomers and established stars alike. Indian cricket’s domestic circuit has often been described as the foundation on which the national team is built. Yet, there is a need to reinforce a fundamental principle: a place in Team India must be earned through performance, not protected by reputation. Domestic cricket must remain the most credible proving ground for aspiring players, established stars, dropped cricketers and those returning after a break. For an aspiring cricketer, scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy or taking wickets in the Duleep Trophy should carry considerable weight in the selection process. Talent may open the door, but sustained performance in competitive conditions should determine whether a player deserves to walk through it. Reputation and potential cannot become permanent substitutes for runs, wickets and match-winning contributions. The same principle must apply to established international players. India needs a transparent selection policy that clearly establishes when a player is expected to return to domestic cricket, what performance benchmarks will be considered and under what circumstances an exemption may be granted. Without such consistency, selection risks appearing subjective. Different standards could be applied to established stars and those waiting for their first international opportunity. When a Test cricketer is dropped for poor form, returning to domestic cricket should be the natural next step. A few net sessions cannot replicate the pressure of a four-day or five-day contest. A batter needs to spend hours at the crease and negotiate different bowling spells. The player must also convert starts into substantial scores. A bowler needs to demonstrate rhythm, control and stamina, as well as the ability to sustain pressure across long spells. Domestic cricket provides evidence of improvement rather than merely an assurance that a player has been working on his game. Selection should therefore be linked to demonstrated form and readiness, rather than an automatic recall based on past achievements. There is an equally strong case for regular Test players to represent their state teams whenever the international calendar permits. Those who are rested or have a break between two Test series should consider domestic matches an opportunity, not an inconvenience. Red-ball cricket demands a temperament different from that required in shorter formats. The ability to leave deliveries, bat through difficult sessions and negotiate reverse swing cannot be developed entirely in the nets. Players must also learn to maintain concentration over several hours. The selection policy must distinguish between a player who is rested for workload management and one who is dropped for poor performance. A rested player should follow an appropriate preparation and match-readiness plan, while a dropped player should have a clear route back through competitive cricket. Injury-related exemptions must be based on medical advice. International commitments should also be accommodated through sensible scheduling. Most importantly, exemptions should not become privileges reserved for marquee players. If a young cricketer must score consistently in domestic cricket to earn a place, an established international should not be assured selection merely because he has delivered in the past. Seniority deserves respect, but it cannot guarantee a place in the playing XI. The Board of Control for Cricket in India and the selectors should establish clear expectations for participation in domestic red-ball competitions. Workload management, injury rehabilitation and national duty should be recognised as legitimate grounds for exemption. Such a policy would improve accountability, strengthen the Ranji Trophy and give selectors a more reliable basis for assessing form. Domestic cricket also benefits from the participation of international players. It allows younger cricketers to test themselves against experienced opponents and learn the demands of elite competition. Ultimately, domestic cricket should be neither a punishment for failure nor a ceremonial obligation. It must be an integral part of a cricketer’s professional life. Team India selection must be a merit-based process, not a privilege earned through reputation. For newcomers, domestic cricket is the route to recognition; for dropped players, it is the path to redemption; and for established stars, it is an opportunity to demonstrate that they remain worthy of the national colours.

Ayodhya’s new emblem of power and memory

Writer: Anurudh Pratap Singh
Anurudh Pratap Singh
Nov 24, 2025
2 min read

The hoisting of the saffron standard atop the Ram temple marks not only a religious milestone, but a political and cultural one too.

The unfurling of a saffron flag atop the spire of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on November 25 was choreographed to suggest both antiquity and arrival. This is a ritual that harks back to epic time, and a declaration of a new era in India’s political and cultural life. Performed on Ram Vivah Panchami, and timed to the Abhijit Muhurat - the auspicious convergence of solar and lunar energies - the ceremony was cast as an act that fused cosmology with statecraft.


For many Indians, the moment carried the weight of centuries. The Ram Janmabhoomi movement has long been a lodestone of religious sentiment, political calculation and social mobilisation. The decades of agitation, the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the long legal battles and the disciplined campaign machinery of the Sangh Parivar created a narrative of grievance, perseverance and ultimate vindication. The temple is presented as the final chapter of a struggle that wove together myth, memory and modern politics, transforming an article of faith into a national project.


The symbolism of the flag, an ancient emblem of renunciation and courage, has been folded into this narrative. Hoisted nearly 200 feet above the sanctum, it is meant to signify divine protection as well as cultural authority. That it has become a geopolitical artefact too is no accident. The tradition of Lord Ram has links to a wider Asian inheritance that ranges from from Thailand’s ‘Rama kings’ to the Ramayana-inspired epics of Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. Ayodhya, in this vocabulary, is not merely a pilgrimage town but a civilisational hub, which radiates soft power across the region.


The ceremony showcases the political ascendancy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His government’s investment in Ayodhya in form of new infrastructure, security arrangements, transport links and a flurry of urban improvements, replicates a model already deployed in Kashi and Ujjain of cultural revival yoked to economic development. These projects are a renaissance of Hindu heritage and as a spur to tourism, employment and national pride.


Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister, has been an essential steward of this vision. His administration has pushed through vast roadworks, tightened policing, and expanded tourism infrastructure, ensuring that Ayodhya is not only symbolically central but materially remade. His blend of clerical authority and administrative discipline has helped institutionalise what began as a religious movement into a broader state agenda.


Ayodhya’s reinvention has been saturated in spectacle. Some 6,000 to 8,000 invited guests, Vedic chants, floral showers and conch shells gave the flag-hoisting the orchestrated grandeur of a national festival.


The saffron flag now flying over Ayodhya is intended much more than a religious marker. It is an emblem of social harmony, cultural renewal and a confident India reclaiming its place in the world. For its critics, the flag may represent exclusion as much as unity; for its supporters, it is the culmination of a long quest.


(The writer is a BJP spokesperson and resident of Ayodhya; associated with the RSS since childhood, he is currently a BJP national media panelist.)

 

Comments

bottom of page