N. Srinivasan, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association President.

“We were benched again. They played the same 11 which played the last match. Our team, Tamil Nadu didn’t make it to the final round this time also,” says the lead actor in the Tamil movie ‘Jeeva’.

“We,” the two men whom the lead actor, Jeeva, refers to are non-Brahmin players who try to get into the playing 11 of the state team.

In one another scene, Ranjith, the lead actor’s friend finishes as the top scorer in a cup match. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) President, as shown in the movie, tries to check whether Ranjith was wearing a sacred thread.

A scene from the movie ‘Jeeva’, where the protoganist and his friend fight against the alleged corruption in TNCA

The movie, which was released in 2014 dealt with the caste-biased selection issue in Tamil Nadu cricket. The movie was received well by the critics. Most critics applauded the movie’s director, Suseenthran, for taking up a script that no one else would dare to.

The premise of caste-based selection in TN cricket is not just one in reel life. Many widespread beliefs are afloat that such premises are regular episodes in real life too.

Is caste, the ticket to the top?

There have been very few cricket writers who have not hinted to the caste-bias in Tamil Nadu cricket.

S. Anand with his piece, “The Retreat of the Brahmin,” has ascertained the existence of Brahmin dominance and he has been highly critical of the same. Cricket writer, Ramachandra Guha has also been skeptical about the dominance of a particular sub-caste in TN cricket circle.

“Captained the city side; lost a place in the state side.”

Rohit Damodaran, the 22-year old Chennaiite who plays for Galle Cricket Club (Sri Lankan club), says, “I had captained an under-13 city team while I was playing cricket in Chennai. I was the second highest scorer in the tournament in which our team lost in the semi-finals. I expected to see my name on the state team sheet, which unfortunately didn't happen. At my expense, a Brahmin player who was benched for most part of the season was selected.”

Having played a season for the Sri Lankan club, Damodaran is back in his hometown, Chennai. He adds that his decision to pursue cricket in Sri Lanka came after he found it extremely difficult to get into the top teams in Tamil Nadu.

“Predominantly, players from an upper-caste have it easy in the cricket circle. Cricketers from lower-castes are deprived of enough access to TNCA grounds, while their Brahmin teammates could use the grounds whenever they want” Damodaran says.

Customary check for the sacred thread

“After you bowl a good spell, the coaches pat you on your back and you probably wouldn’t realize that have already checked for the sacred thread,” says Gunalan Paneer, a young cricketer from Chennai. “I have seen it happen and that is when I lost hope,” he adds.

“Only a handful of non-Brahmin players get into the squad of the league teams. In spite of them being good enough to play at the level, they are often benched and are rarely given a ticket to play in the 11,” he says.

“Most of the coaches are them and they prefer men from their caste,” he adds.

The other side of the coin

“The allegation is a myth”

TNCA selector and coach, Sharath Kumar calls the caste-bias a myth.

Madhavan Nair (name changed), a TNCA scorer and video analyst, says rumors had led to such baseless allegations.

“Word about a player, about his form and talent usually travels by word of mouth. Similarly, news about injuries, politics in the dressing room also spread fast through word of mouth. Likewise, these allegations of caste-based selection in Tamil Nadu cricket has mainly taken flight from rumours and word of mouth”, says Nair.

Likewise, cricket writer V. Ramnarayan rubbishes the allegation of caste-bias pitched against TNCA.

He says, “No selection committee as far as I know, has ever sat down to select a Tamil Nadu team based on caste-bias.” At the same time, he doesn't rule out the role of individual prejudice that sometime stem up in the selection process.

V.Ramnarayn talks about the caste-bias in TNCA

He recollects the 1954 Ranji trophy winning Madras team that had more non-Brahmins than Brahmins. “The captain of the team, RB Allagapan was a non-Brahmin,” Ramnarayan adds.

“Brahmins dominated the game at one stage,” he adds; says it was never due to biased selection.

Why more Brahmins?

“In the early days, Cricket was played only in the city. Even in Chennai, areas like Triplicane and Mylapore had more people who played the game. Most people in those areas were Brahmins and Muslims. This might as well be the reason for a lot of Muslim players in the team,” Madhavan Nair says.

“It’s not a selection bias”

Cricket commentator Sumanth Raman says the dominance of upper-caste players in the state team and the national team is not a result of selection bias. “Cricket back in early days was played in cities, where the upper caste people were doing well and had time to concentrate on leisurely activities like sports. This naturally is the reason for more upper caste representation in the state and the national team,” he says.

He also feels that the upper-caste dominance is diminishing in the sport. He says “More and more people from lesser known cities and towns are taking up cricket and this has given scope for people from all sections of the society to take up cricket as career option.”

What about domination among the office-bearers?

Again, there is an allegation against TNCA that most of its office bearers are from the upper caste.

Madhavan Nair has an answer to this one too. He says, “Most job openings in TNCA aren't posted on the websites. The calls are predominantly done through word of mouth. So, it is obvious people in and around TNCA and those who have a closer association with the men at the top get the opportunity.”

What do the stats say?

An analysis of Brahmin representation over a period of 80 years since 1930 indicates that the TN squad always had a healthy number of Brahmins. On an average the TN squad has had three Brahmins. Surprisingly, the era between 1990 and 2010 has witnessed a lot of Brahmins playing for the state.

Brahmins in the squad between 1930 and 1950

Brahmins in the squad between 1960 and 1990

Brahmins in the squad between1990 and 2010

As Ramnarayan says, the reason for the Brahmin dominance in the TN squad might be the history of the game. The game has always seen greater involvement from people who had enough money and time to play the game, the upper caste players. Whether or not, the allegation of caste-biased selection resulting in the Brahmin dominance remains a tricky question.

Some people have been saying yes and some have been saying no.

There are opposing opinions to this debate of caste politics in Tamil Nadu cricket. While there are people who bat for the existence of caste prejudice in selection procedures, there are those who bat away such allegations. Even though there seems to be ample evidence to support either cause, the influence of caste in Tamil Nadu cricket remains incompletely understood.