'If I was an IPL scout, I would make sure my team watches the ISPL simulation games': Head of Selection Committee Jatin Paranjpe

The Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) has quietly become one of the most intriguing cricket projects in the country that has gone from handful of cities to conduct trials to 55 last season and 101 now.

What began as a fun, almost chaotic celebration of tennis-ball cricket has now turned into a massive talent search that cuts across India’s cricketing geography.

This year, the ISPL trials stretched across 101 cities, pulling in players from small towns, industrial belts, rural pockets and the fringes of big metros — places where cricketing ambition thrives, even if opportunities don’t.

Involved in this sprawling operation is former India cricketer and selector Jatin Paranjape, who has been part of ISPL’s selection ecosystem since day one.

In a conversation with TimesofIndia.com, Paranjape stressed that Indian cricket’s most compelling stories often sit outside the formal structures — the fast bowler who couldn’t afford academy fees, the batter who stopped playing after shifting cities, the all-rounder stalled by an untimely injury. Many of these players now resurface at ISPL trials, carrying not just ability but lived experience. And that, Paranjape says, is why the talent keeps getting better every year.

With simulation matches as the next step in the ISPL's talent hunting process, Paranjpe urged IPL scouts to also have a look at the talent in store in tennis ball cricket.

Q. How has the process been? What did you see in all the players that you watched?

Jatin: We are in more than 100 cities this year - our highly trained scouts are looking for talent across 100 cities. So that distribution has grown 2x from last year. I have been associated with the league from the first year. In the second year I was telling everybody that the talent is better than the first year. Now in the third year I am telling everybody that the talent is much better than it was in the second year.

So the talent pool is deep and wide and we are mindful that we want to go and look for talent all across the country. Hence widening the reach has been a big focus area for us.

Q. What has been the challenge in expanding to 101 cities?

Jatin: For example, I am in Palghar right now. I am here to watch a simulation match in Palghar - it is about 3.5 hours away from Mumbai.

So there is an operational challenge but we have our operational capability. Our SOPs have become much tighter and better over the last 2-3 years. Some places have a lesser number of players so we try and pipeline them into some other cities.

So I think apart from the usual logistics piece, there is no big challenge so to speak. Because the game is so deeply popular across the country. And ISPL as a brand has a lot of authenticity and trust.

So players from all across the country, even though it might be a little tough for them, they are always turning up for the trials in larger numbers every season.

Q. What do you mean when you say second was better than first and third better than second - what has improved?

Jatin: So I think overall if you see the quality of fast bowling, that has continued to impress me. And having interacted with hundreds of such players over the last 2-3 years, and I say interacted, not only watching them but having conversations with them, one thing becomes apparent that most of these players have had experience in red ball cricket or leather ball cricket. But sometimes somebody has got injured at an under-16 level, somebody's family has faced some financial problems, somebody has moved to some other place with the change of job of his father's. So some circumstances have happened where they are not able to play leather ball cricket anymore.

But they want to keep their passion alive and hence they are playing tennis ball cricket. So most of these fast bowlers for example and a lot of big hitters also we have seen, have their antecedents in their careers in leather ball cricket.

Q. Does that give them an edge vs the likes of say a player who does not have that much of a talent of playing red ball?

Jatin: When you play leather ball cricket at some level, your gravitas as a player is slightly higher than just a talented player. A talented but experienced player always has an edge.

But you know, India is a country of very very smart people. So even the newcomers, there is a very vibrant tennis ball cricket ecosystem in our country. So while the newcomers might not play leather ball cricket, it's a truth, but they would have played a lot of tennis ball tournaments and leagues. So the game intelligence is there across the board, essentially.

Q. Players have the challenge of showcasing their skills in 12 balls. How difficult is it for a scout or a selector?

Jatin: Selection is a lot about judgement. And we've seen some of these players at a lower level and then they've come into a simulation match. So this is probably when the simulation match happens, it's the second time that a scout is looking at that player, essentially. And 12 balls is a decent amount of time to kind of showcase what you have.

Q. What trends have you noticed at the grassroots level - are more players batting, bowling, all-rounders? Or players that are power hitters or just street smart?

Jatin: I think a yes to all your points, actually. I see a lot of guys who can hit a really big ball. We see a lot of bowlers who have variations with a yorker, with a slow burn, with a slow bounce, with a wide yorker. A lot of talent across the board. Lots and lots of talent. I think this ISPL will see a fantastic level of competition.

Q. Do you pick players solely based on their skill or also the entertainment value that they bring?

Jatin: No, we try and stay very, very authentic to the DNA of the player. I think the entertainment is good for the channel - probably we are not the best people to do that.

Q. Do you see ISPL becoming a legitimate feeder system to domestic cricket in India?

Jatin: 100%. You know, I'm actually really surprised that I'm not seeing IPL scouts at our simulation matches. The scouts follow the auctions and they will follow the season.

If I was an IPL scout, I would make sure that 5-6 of my top scouts are watching these simulation games all across the country.

Q. What are your expectations out of the next season?

Jatin: Look, the league is superbly managed. It's got a fantastic broadcaster. And I think what we - along with Sachin (Tendulkar) and Praveen (Amre) - are always thinking of how to keep the engagement levels with the players up during the rest of the year, basically.

So, should we be doing some camps? Should we be monitoring their strength and conditioning? All these are points on the table and we are trying to improve every year.

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