Making Cricket Inclusive

There was a time when the Tamil Nadu cricket team had an Iyengar majority. But, over the years, the Tamil Nadu selection committee has taken the TROUBLE TO SPOT talent from the far corners of the state and varied social and economic backgrounds. Particularly in the last decade or so, the number of young cricketers from deprived backgrounds to make the cut has been quite considerable.

- V. Ramnarayan

Many years ago, a pro-Dalit journalist-turned political commentator asked me if the Tamil Nadu cricket team was dominated by Brahmin players. I replied that it seemed to be so during that specific period but that it had not always been so. I further pointed out that the team perhaps had an Iyengar (a Vaishnavite subsect among Tamil Brahmins) majority. “Why so?” the young man asked me and my response was that they were such talented cricketers. “Maybe also because the administration is full of Iyengars,” I added tongue-in-cheek. In a more serious vein, I said I doubted that any selection committee sat down to pick a team based on caste considerations.

THE TAMIL NADU SELECTION committee may make mistakes, but over the years, it has taken the trouble to spot talent from the far corners of the state and varied social and economic backgrounds. Particularly in the last decade or so, the number of young cricketers from deprived backgrounds to make the cut has been quite considerable.

In my own playing experience, I came across two teams in the first division made up almost entirely from the fisherman community living close to Marina Beach. I was in my late thirties or early forties then and had no business to be still in the game, but it was enjoyable all the same to bond with young cricketers. In tournaments like The Hindu Trophy, I turned out for TVS, but represented Alwarpet CC in the first division league. My friend Das, from a fisher family, played for Appiah Chettiar Memorial CC in the league, but as he was employed by TVS, was my teammate in The Hindu Trophy matches.

SMALL, BUT WIRY and athletically built, Das was a more than a useful all-rounder — accurate medium pacer, attacking batsman and brilliant fielder anywhere in the field. He played the game hard and it was sometimes difficult to control his aggressive instincts.