LUCKNOW, Sept. 8 -- Amid concerns that performers in the the UPTwenty20 League will once again miss the selection bus for the state teams in domestic cricket, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association has acknowledged there were mistakes in the past but said that the selection system is being made more efficient. This comes after the third consecutive season of the UPTwenty20 League that concluded on Saturday, with its slogan "Khiladi Yahan Banta Hai", provided a platform for cricketers from Uttar Pradesh and Railways to showcase their talent and attract attention from IPL scouts. In the past, standout performances in the state league did not necessarily translate into selection for Uttar Pradesh's domestic squads. One notable example is young leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari from Lucknow, who claimed 24 wickets to top the charts but was not selected for the UP squads in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, or Ranji Trophy. Initially included only as a net bowler, Ansari was later drafted into the Ranji squad for the last two games but did not get a chance to play. "In fact, the coach was not happy with him." This was the remark of the people concerned. Ansari could make it to the Ranji Trophy squad only after the director of senior cricket that season and former Ranji Trophy captain Gyanendra Pandey used his special powers. Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Arvind Srivastava accepted that there were a few 'mistakes in non-selection of performers like Ansari' but that's the past. This won't be happening again, he said. "The UPT20 League is a key platform to identify talent for state teams, and we are committed to making the selection process more efficient," he said. A senior UPCA official, speaking anonymously, noted that selection criteria have varied in the past. "It's true that in Uttar Pradesh, the criteria for selection and playing of a performer is altogether different," claimed a senior UPCA functionary on the condition of anonymity. "Even in the past, selectors were allowed to pick 18 of their choice and the selection of the remaining 12 among the 30 probables was the jurisdiction of a former office bearer," he said. "Those privileged 12 were never allowed to be in the Playing XI in the season, but now only privileged cricketers, including some from the neighbouring states like Delhi and Haryana, are allowed to play all formats of the game," he said. "You will not find many of the performers of this year's UPT20 League even in white ball events like the SMAT Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy in the upcoming season," he predicted. The 2024 UPT20 League saw several standout performances: Kavya Teotia (206 runs), Siddharth Yadav (201 runs), Prashant Veer (181 runs), Rituraj Sharma (174 runs), Sunil Kumar (19 wickets), Yash Garg (17 wickets), and Abhinandan Singh (15 wickets). Yet, these players were not considered for even a single match in the SMAT Trophy, where UP exited in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, players like former Team India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Aaqib Khan, Saurabh Kumar, Abhishek Sharma, and Delhi's Nitish Rana were included in white-ball squads despite not being among the top 15 performers of the UPT20 League's second season. While efforts are underway to streamline the system, concerns remain about the inclusion of players from outside the state and the limited opportunities for homegrown talent. "We must stop the entry of outsiders in UP teams as well as the non-performers also," said another UPCA insider. "By allowing Railways cricketers to play in the UPT20 League this season, we denied our own cricketers a chance to draw the attention of IPL franchises and I feel this isn't good for UP cricket," he added. In the new season too, there are many performers in the UPT20 League, but it would be interesting to see how many of them get the nod of the Praveen Kumar-led committee to play for UP at least in the white-ball formats....