Modi and Mody Brothers Inc.

In a cosmic coincidence, the ICL-IPL war, which is turning out to be cricket's Waterloo, is led by two gentlemen with similar-sounding surnames, Lalit Modi ( BCCI) and Himanshu Mody (Zee), despite a single alphabetical twist. Together, they are currently playing Russian roulette , the winner takes it all. Cricket, the game per se, is become hugely incidental.

I have never ever seen the world of cricket, look so thoroughly devoid of imaginative leadership, pregnant with glaring inconsistencies, totally disorganized, egregiously rudderless and politically vitiated. It is a sad commentary.

Here is a short summary, as I don't want to write a lengthy encyclopedia titled: An Inconvenient Truth.

1) The ICL has given a stern warning to ICC threatening legal action if it is nit immediately recognized. It is a serious challenge, as all ICL has to do is to acquire national players from financially fledgling country boards such as Bangladesh (acquired), Zimbabwe and West Indies by contracting their low-wage contract players. International cricket will come to an abrupt halt. The ICC is as silent as the Sphinx.

2) The IPL League is already become an India-Australia nexus story as they are the new arch rivals with higher TRP prospects (Pakistan can now be contemptuously dismissed). Thus, the Australians have quietly sneaked into Jaipur, bomb blasts notwithstanding, even as Pakistan cries foul.

3) The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has refused to ban ICL players , who will be available for national duty. So now why is the BCCI suddenly stupefied? Take a guess!

4) Kapil Dev has castigated the BCCI-ICC for "apartheid" in international cricket, meaning the deliberate ostracization of ICL by the powerful combine. The battle-field is getting increasingly crowded.

5) The Champions Trophy has been postponed to some unknown calendar space next year in Pakistan; so does it mean that we will have a Champions Trophy in 2009 and 2010? And what if Pakistan continues to be a dangerous mine-filed?

6) Pakistan looks certain of being declared a territory under constant advisory for some time, which will bring cricket to a virtual standstill in that country. Does ICC have a back-up plan, or should ICL do a rescue act?

7) Instead of the ICC working on neutral venues with the concerned boards, the Pakistan and West Indies cricket boards are directly negotiating on playing at safer stadiums in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a bilateral basis, reflecting the aimless drift in cricket administration.

8) The power of personalities continues to over-ride all sane conventional norms in India and Pakistan.. Sachin Tendulkar had declared himself fully fit for the Australia series , but is apparently unfit for the Irani Cup? Why is Tendulkar given such an exclusive treatment, when NO OTHER player including the likes of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble are accorded (and rightly so) any special privileges? It is preposterous! Shoaib Akhtar might eventually play for Pakistan without fines, and Mohammed Asif is already warming up for ICL, despite the drug charges. It's rock on, out there.

9) Apparently Aussie speedster Brett Lee's marriage broke-up on account of his incessant travel, with India being prime destination for brand endorsements and even Bollywood razzmatazz. With the international cricket calendar getting increasingly chaotic, expect high pressure-zones on personal lives of overseas cricketers being forced to lead dual lives across continents. Poor Glen McGrath was doing duty for Delhi Daredevils ( am sure the money was a great incentive, but nevertheless) in IPL, even as his wife was perhaps battling the final stages of an unrelenting cancer.

10) The BCCI has just announced it's financial results, and cricket correspondents are jumping sky-high about it's epochal performance? Really? But can someone explain to me their Treasurer's extraordinary financial judgment in allowing Zee TV's financial guarantee to lapse of over Rs 200 crores (two hundred crore rupees) which is a clear net loss on the bottom-line directly? It seems, it was just a "slight oversight". This one beats even Lehman Brothers in cock and bull kite-flying. To borrow from Al Gore, that is "an inconvenient truth" nobody wants to talk about, even in whispers. Even in a hushed contralto.

By the way, I forgot to ask you, who is the captain of the Indian team for the Australia Test series??? It starts on the 9th Oct, right?