Indian cricket\u2019s global rise rests on a hard, almost unforgiving ecosystem. A vast, hungry talent pool, relentless competition at every rung, the muscle of the IPL, and coaches who push players through an exacting, often brutal, screening process. The system\u2019s strength lies in the belief of fairness \u2014 that skill, sweat and selection together create a level playing field.<\/p>\n
In Puducherry, that field has been turned upside down.<\/p>\n
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Addresses are manufactured, eligibility certificates sold for a fee, and a one-man proprietorship has morphed into a full-blown parallel selection system that operates right under the nose of the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) whose job is it to monitor it, an investigation by The Indian Express<\/a> has found.<\/p>\n Over the past three months, The Indian Express reviewed over 2,000 registration forms of players in the Union Territory, spoke to over a dozen former and current players and officials, tracked down several listed addresses of residences and institutions on the ground.<\/p>\n ALSO READ | Express Investigation Part II: From land to votes, how a private firm took over Puducherry cricket association<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n It revealed a well-oiled pipeline operated mainly by coaches at private academies who offer backdated admissions in educational institutions and dodgy Aadhaar addresses, or even job records, to help cricketers from other states meet the BCCI\u2019s mandatory one-year residency requirement and become \u201clocal\u201d cricketers \u2014 all for \u201cpackages\u201d upto Rs 1.2 lakh or more. And a fast-track route to CAP teams across age-groups.<\/p>\n Consider this illustrative example: 17 \u201clocal\u201d cricketers from eight states, who are part of various CAP squads, share one Aadhaar address at Mothilal Nagar in Moolakulam. The homeowner said she had leased out a portion of the house to four cricketers a \u201cfew years ago\u201d who were evicted \u201cwithin months\u201d for non-payment of dues.<\/p>\n Why is Puducherry an emerging market, so to speak? The stakes are high.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n A Ranji Trophy cap unlocks a world of opportunities through visibility, match fees and sports quota jobs. Even a junior player can earn up to Rs 11.2 lakh a season in match fees alone if he plays in all the seven league stage matches. Besides, good performances in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy boosts chances of a lucrative slot in the IPL<\/a>.<\/p>\n The CAP was set up by P Damodaren, the owner of wires and cables company Siechem Technologies Ltd, who himself faces allegations of conflict of interest and impropriety (read Part II of the Express Investigation)<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s also a voting member of the BCCI, which prides itself on being a global success story as the richest and most influential cricket body, and owner of IPL, which is among the Top 10 sports leagues in the world. And yet, thriving in its shadow are these \u201crigged\u201d systems, as former Puducherry fast bowler Santhamoorthy described it.<\/p>\n Investigating official records, The Indian Express found:<\/p>\n *<\/strong> Over the past four years, only five<\/strong> Puducherry-born players have taken the field in the 29 Ranji<\/strong> matches played by the team. In the opening U19 game of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy this season, nine of the 11<\/strong> players were recruits from other states labelled as \u201clocals\u201d.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n *<\/strong> Last season, there were not more than four <\/strong>Puducherry-born players in any game of the 15-member senior men\u2019s squads. The rest were players from other states who were armed with all the documents required to be labelled as \u201clocal\u201d \u2014 each senior team can officially accommodate only three \u201coutstation\u201d players.<\/p>\n *<\/strong> In the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, no local player <\/strong>featured in any of Puducherry\u2019s five matches in the first half of the season.<\/p>\n *<\/strong> Five local cricketers were banned<\/strong> by the CAP for protesting the unfettered inclusion of outstation cricketers in the T20 Pondicherry Premier League (PPL) 2025 season.<\/p>\n *<\/strong> In 2019, the BCCI banned six players<\/strong> from Puducherry for listing a fictitious \u201cSenthil Institute\u201d in their registration records.<\/p>\n Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cCricketers from North Indian states come, pay and play the next day itself without having to physically fulfill the key one-year residency requirement,\u201d Santhamoorthy said.<\/p>\n![\"Only](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CAP-players.jpg\")
Only five Pondicherry-born cricketers have played the Ranji Trophy for Puducherry in the last five years. (Express Photo by Lalith Kalidas)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"(Left)](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Pondicherry-addresses.jpg\")
(Left) The house in Moolakulam is found on the records of at least 17 CAP cricketers. (Right) The three-storey building in the MG Road Area is found on the records of six CAP cricketers. (Express Photo by Lalith Kalidas)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/vivekananda-iti.jpg\")
The Sri Vivekananda ITI institute in Nellithope, which has shifted operations under the Ramachandra Paramedical Science College in Villianur. (Express Photo by Lalith Kalidas)