Abstract
This article contextualizes South Africa’s men’s cricket test team’s historic victory in the third edition of the ICC World Test Championship and its embodiment of social justice. By positioning this win, achieved under the leadership of a black African, Temba Bavuma, within the post-colonial Indian setting, the article argues that South Africa’s previous failures in ICC tournaments have been deliberately promoted within the dominant discourse by Hindu right-wing and upper-caste elites to undermine affirmative action, such as reservations. However, Bavuma’s success under the quota policy has challenged the narrative that affirmative action undermines meritocracy, thereby sparking a renewed debate around reservation in Indian cricket. Especially with the Indian government’s plan to conduct a caste-based census in 2026, the upcoming Bihar state election offers an opportunity for socialist leaders across the political spectrum, such as Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore, to popularize the discourse around reservation in cricket in a genuine effort to achieve complete social equity from this land of social justice movement.
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