Our roving cricket correspondent has just stumbled on to a sizeable scoop. And this time, it's not just filched ice cream we're talking about. He has come across a Sports Ministry document marked 'Top Secret" while having his daily ration of fruit chaat at the dhaba outside Shastri Bhawan. The fruit chaat came wrapped in this highly classified paper.
The speculation that the Government wants to wrest control of cricket in India from the BCCI has been substantiated by the contents of this document. Here are the major revelations:
I) The management of cricket, selection of players and the players themselves will be recruited through the creation of the Indian Cricket Service, with the Union Public Service Commission holding annual examinations to this cadre. II) Obviously, this will mean that the top echelon of this cadre will be populated by persons who have played neither national nor domestic cricket (not even in the gullies), but it follows the well established principle of peopling key governmental departments with officials who haven't the vaguest inkling about what the job entails let alone having any expertise. However, since the Sports Ministry babus have realised that the senior officials of the BCCI already fulfil these critical criteria, they may be coopted into the service.
III) Given the Government's reservation policy, it is also necessary to ensure that at least 67 per cent of the positions in the playing team go to the underprivileged sections and 25 per cent to those even more underprivileged. The Government believes that since actual merit plays a minor role in the selection of the Indian cricket team as it is, this will have no tangible impact on its performance.
IV) The Government is also seriously considering a 33 per cent reservation for women in the team. While there are rumours of a women's cricket team being in existence, this has not been substantiated. The Government has decided to send a fact-finding team to Zurich to look into the matter.
V) Since this will be a Government undertaking, unionisation will be an obvious corollary. The Government is considering paying overtime to any batsman who scores more than 25 runs and to any bowler who takes more than 2 wickets in an innings. In addition, given the trend in other loss-making organizations run by the Government, it is possible that omission of players on spurious grounds such a performance, could lead to strikes especially during the course of a match. On the other hand, this could also mean fewer defeats for the Indian team.
VI) Since the Government is also committed to the dictum of globalisation, another recommendation that is under consideration is that of allowing foreign equity participation in the enterprise. However, the ceiling has not been fixed with the Government still do decide whether it should retain majority control. However, global tenders are likely to be floated once the proposal has been mandated. While the Government expects bids from organisations in Australia and South Africa, there could also be considerable interest generated in Sharjah and Dubai.
VII) Of course, given considerations for national security and the overall strategic environment, India will not be engaging Pakistan in the field. However, the Indian team, in keeping with the country's diplomatic priorities, will tour crucial nations like Burkinafaso, Senegal, Peru, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, among others.

Note: These extracts are incomplete since our correspondent had already swallowed some sections of the document before he realised that the fruit chaat tasted better than usual.