And judging by backstage buzz, indications are that the report will come down very heavily on cricket in Sharjah. A related question is about the potential loss to India through not playing there. The slapping of income tax on the BCCI should be all the answer Lele needs. As to the larger question, there is perhaps some merit in it. After all, pretty much every government enterprise is now being privatized.
Every analyst is agreed that whatever the government has touched, it has ruined.
The simple answer is that cricket administration in this country has been tempting providence for quite some time, with its arrogant indifference to public opinion. A national outcry followed. Governments are notoriously quick to seize on the public mood, and the one headed by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee is no exception. The proposal to set up zonal cricket academies, passed during that working committee meeting earlier this week, is being held up as a shining example of the 'vision' of the board. The origins of that 'vision' are, however, conveniently forgotten.