The most interesting cricketing tussle is currently in play, and we are not even talking of the recently concluded India-Australia series.
This particular confrontation is between the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Minister for Sports Uma Bharti.
Uma Bharti has hit the Board where it hurts most - in the pocketbook. Not only has she directed that India not play any series against Pakistan, she has also gone ahead and banned encounters at suspect venues like Toronto, Sharjah and Singapore.
Obviously, the Board is angry. Not only does it deprive it of the megamoolah that comes flowing in whenever India plays the Pakis courtesy ticket sales and TV rights, it also stops these hard-pressed, hard-working, true proponents of Indian cricket of a few of the perks that come with a thankless job. Like a couple of jaunts to Canada, or an electronics shopping spree in Singapore that can be easily billed to the "entertainment allowance" or partaking of the particular pleasures of Sharjah that can come under the head of "regional cricket development". That's really galling ,especially since Dubai was just about to come up as another desert venue and think of all those lost shopping hours as the shopping festival!!
BCCI president A C Muthiah has issued a stern warning to the meddlesome Government. If the Indians cannot play the Pakis then India cannot play in multi-team tournaments like the ICC Trophy, the Asia Cup or even the World Cup. Then again, their argument goes, you can allow hockey, volleyball, kho kho, squash and other matches, why single out cricket? Anyway, the BCCI still wants Income Tax exemption to organise the ICC tourney.
But Uma Bharti has straightbatted the objections and is sitting on the IT clearance. Her contention: If the BCCI will not play the ICC tournament, why organise it and why seek IT sops?
That apart, we believe that there are several other questionable venues that the Indian cricket team should avoid on grounds of national interest. Here is a brief list:
Dhaka: Obviously with all that border tension, India should not even contemplate visiting our Eastern neighbour till the Bangladesh Government apologises.
Colombo: Think of the manifest harm that could come to our players due to depredations of the LTTE, who are battling it out with the Sri Lankan Army just a few hundred km away from the country's capital. If the Aussies and the Windies could refuse to put their players at risk, why should we risk our fragile stars?
Harare: Not till Mugabe gives up his policy of reverse apartheid.
Lords: Not till the Kohinoor has been returned.
Nairobi: Not till the Kenyan Government compensates all Indian who were purged out of East Africa.
Cape Town: Not till Hansie Cronje has been deported to Zimbabwe to live with a vulnerable white farmer. We do not want out innocent eleven exposed to the devilish charms of match fixers.
Sydney: Because we don't want out players to undergo another episode of humiliation Down Under.
Wellington: Not till the Kiwi can fly.
Sabina Park: Because…just because.
Eden Gardens: Not till the Left rules the State and especially not if that treacherous Mamata Banerjee becomes the Chief Minister.

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