Suryavanshi & Bihar's Vijay Hazare Trophy demolition raises concerns over BCCI's domestic structure

Runs were distributed in charity while bowlers struggled on the opening day of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

22 hundred, the highest List A score, the second-highest successful List A chase, the fastest hundred record broken twice—all of this happened on the opening day of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).

It was raining fours and sixes across multiple venues in India. Every cricket enthusiast online was raving about the results. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Mithun Manhas championed Bihar scoring 574 runs.

Records doing more harm than good?

But was it a good day for Indian cricket? The same people who allege the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been used as a barometer for selection, even in Test cricket, rejoiced as records tumbled like a pack of cards. But doesn’t it highlight exactly why the selectors don’t trust domestic performance?

If teams don’t have any issues chasing down 413 with 2.3 overs to spare, something Karnataka did after Ishan Kishan smashed a 33-ball hundred, doesn’t that show why selectors may have lost faith in the value of domestic runs and wickets? How can one judge a bowler’s pedigree if he’s applauded for not going over 7 runs per over in a 50-over match?

“As selectors, you will never take these records into account. BCCI has to be proactive,” former India national selector Devang Gandhi told the Times of India. “You can’t say these runs are meaningless because these teams are part of the system. But something needs to be done about the current structure of domestic cricket,” former NCA coach WV Raman said.

BCCI needs to think out of the box

This run-spree wasn’t limited to just smaller teams, Plate Group. In the Elite Group, 11 teams scored over 300, 2 over 350, and 2 over 400 on the opening day. But the biggest talking point was Bihar and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Facing Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar posted 574 on the board with 3 batters scoring tons.

Suryavanshi smashed a 36-ball hundred, and hours later, Bihar’s captain Sakibul Gani beat that by scoring a 32-ball century. Ayush Loharuka also hit a ton. Bihar ended up winning by 397 runs, the second-largest margin of victory in List A history.

This also begged a question: Does BCCI need to shift Suryavanshi to another state or perhaps make a new team for players like him, who may not develop if they keep facing players who aren’t anywhere close to the international level?

“BCCI has to create a parallel system for talented players like Suryavanshi coming from these states. For Suryavanshi’s growth, he needs to play tough first-class cricket. BCCI will have to find a way where Suryavanshi has exposure to top-class red-ball cricket. It shouldn’t be the case where the hours he is putting in domestic cricket are becoming meaningless. At his age, bad habits in the game can creep in easily if he is exposed to poor-quality cricket for a long time,” Gandhi added.

“The CoE can have its own team in domestic cricket. Then a lot of talented players stay in the system, playing top-class cricket,” Raman added.