Indian cricket back to glory

The Indian cricket team won the Asia Cup in Dambulla today after 15 years. And, for a change, India tasted victory against Sri Lanka in the final of a tournament with more than three teams.

Back home in India, the infighting in the BCCI got uglier with Lalit Modi calling the cricket board a Khap Panchayat. Hitting back at his detractors in the Indian cricket board who are now determined to throw the chief architect of the Indian Premier League out of the business of cricket, Modi dared the BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and his group to allow the Special General Meeting of the board decide on his expulsion.

Modi argues the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan who announced his expulsion has no right to do the job citing conflict of interest. Srinivasan owns the IPL team Chennai Super Kings. However, it may be Modi's final episode in the melodrama of Indian cricket even as his mentor Sharad Pawar is fast losing his control over the cricket body. In fact, Modi's unceremonius exit has a lot to do with Modi going overboard to help Pawar in his alleged bid to own a IPL team from backdoor.

Even the IPL franchises, known for their support to Modi for pure commercial interests, are now bracing up to do business with the new IPL Commissioner Chirayu Amin. But given the cricket administrators' lust for money, it remains to be seen if the new incumbent is different from others. Or, he also plays in to the hands of the greedy administrators who look to be in the business of cricket to make money only.

Jaswant's return to BJP

It's the political U-turn of the year. Expelled senior leader Jaswant Singh is formally reinducted into the BJP today. And, the leader maintains there is no change as far as Zinnah is concerned. Singh was expelled from the party nine months back for his controversial book in which he had praised Zinnah and criticised Sardar Patel, inviting wraths of the RSS that led to his expulsion.

But if Jaswant still adheres to the same opinion, how the BJP could change its mind about the veteran MP from Darjeeling? Is it a loss of face for the BJP?

Good luck Mr Gadkari in your efforts to bring all the veterans back to the saffron party!