3 Things Express Investigation: Puducherry as a shortcut to cricket’s big leagues
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Dec 15, 2025 Lalith Kalidas, an investigative journalist with The Indian Express, uncovers the dark underbelly of cricket in Puducherry. He reveals how private coaches are exploiting loopholes to help out-of-state players fake local status through questionable documents. With over 2,000 registrations scrutinized, Lalith discusses the systemic manipulation of eligibility rules and the consequences for genuine players. He highlights the failure of the Cricket Association of Pondicherry and BCCI to enforce regulations, leaving local cricketers' futures at risk.
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Outstation Players Flood Pondicherry Teams
- Pondicherry has repeatedly fielded many outstation players across formats, exposing systemic eligibility manipulation.
- Lalith Kalidas traced patterns over seven years and flagged age-group teams packed with non-locals.
Investigator Visits Fake Addresses
- Lalith visited five recurring addresses that appeared on player registration forms and found many listed players never actually lived there.
- He contacted named institutes and discovered students were back in their hometowns despite being registered in Pondicherry.
Paid Packages Create Fake Domicile Records
- Private coaches and middlemen offer packaged services to backdate domicile via fake college admissions and Aadhaar addresses.
- Packages cost roughly ₹1.2 lakh for enrollment and ₹16,000 for fake Aadhaar/residence paperwork.