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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.

Hollow Piety

Correspondent
Sep 29, 2025
3 min read

West Bengal’s chief minister has turned Durga Puja into a theatre of appeasement, where faith is subordinated to the survival instincts of her party.

West Bengal
West Bengal

The clang of the dhak and the reverent throngs around Kolkata’s puja pandals are usually a reminder of Bengal’s most cherished festival, the Durga Puja. But it seems that under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, even the state’s most sacred spaces are not immune to the corrosive logic of her politics.


Last week, Banerjee inaugurated several pandals across Kolkata in what should have been a conventional gesture embracing Bengal’s cultural grandeur at the start of West Bengal’s most festive season. Instead, the controversial CM turned it into a brazen theatre of appeasement. At the BhowaniporeShitala Mandir pandal, Madan Mitra, a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, broke into a song that was not any hymn to Goddess Durga, but an Islamic nasheed praising Mecca and Medina. Banerjee, far from objecting, clapped along approvingly.


Mitra later sought to soften the act by tacking on references to the Ganga and Yamuna. But the intended damage was done. The incident was no ‘innocent’ slip but a calculated gesture that fits seamlessly into Banerjee’s long record of pandering to minority sentiment at the cost of majority traditions.


The opposition was quick to pounce. The BJP’s Amit Malviya accused Banerjee of trampling on Sanatani beliefs, citing this as proof that the TMC had crossed the “limit of appeasement politics.” The charge is not unfounded. This is the same government that withdrew funding from a Durga pandal themed on Operation Sindoor, deeming it politically inconvenient.


Such decisions reveal a state policy where even cultural expression is vetted for conformity with the ruling party’s electoral calculus.


Banerjee’s defenders insist this is much ado about nothing. They argue that the CM, a Brahmin who has led countless Puja inaugurations, is being unfairly maligned. They dismiss the controversy over her covering her head during the ceremonies as a gesture to shield herself from the rain.


Yet these defences ring hollow. For years, Banerjee has cultivated an image of syncretism, but in practice she has deployed symbolism as a political weapon, calibrated less to unify than to fragment.


Ever since the TMC supplanted Bengal’s Communist regime, Mamata’s tenure has been punctuated by a series of controversies that underscore her penchant for political theatrics over principled governance. In 2011, shortly after assuming office, her government faced accusations of excessive centralisation of power, with key decisions bypassing cabinet processes and bureaucratic protocols. She has repeatedly clashed with the judiciary and media, including the 2014 incident when journalists covering her administration’s handling of the Saradha chit-fund scam were intimidated. Her handling of law and order, notably in the Nandigram and Singur land acquisition disputes, exposed heavy-handed crackdowns on protesters.


In a state where Muslim voters account for over a quarter of the electorate, Banerjee has made appeasement the organising principle of governance. Every symbolic gesture is weighed against its impact on the ballot box.


The irony is that instead of enhancing Bengal’s communal harmony, it has deepened polarisation. The BJP, once a marginal force in the state, has built a formidable base by exploiting precisely this vacuum of credibility. Each TMC misstep strengthens the perception that the ruling party does not merely mismanage the state but actively undermines its cultural fabric.


This instrumentalization of Durga Puja is especially corrosive because the festival is not just a religious occasion but a cultural cornerstone of Bengal’s identity. To reduce it to a stage for clumsy electoral manoeuvres is to hollow out its meaning.


For all her populist instincts, the state’s economic stagnation, corruption scandals and major law-and-order crises have eroded the TMC’s standing. Instead of course correction, Mamata has doubled down on the politics of symbolism. It may yield short-term gains, but it leaves Bengal’s social fabric frayed and its traditions politicised beyond recognition.


Durga Puja has survived centuries of upheaval, from colonial neglect to communist austerity. It will endure Mamata Banerjee too.

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