IPL up to its usual tricks

The Indian Premier League has never been short of off-field drama. Osman Samiuddin, in The National, dissects the tournament from the backdrop of the Gurunath controversies, that has BCCI president N Srinivasan's son-in-law right in the middle of it, and the efforts made by India Cements, owner of Chennai Super Kings and helmed by Srinivasan, to distance themselves further.

This is not a league. This is not even a random collection of franchises (some of which come and go, and some which come, go, come and go again) playing a sport. There are no real laws, codes or regulations to adhere to. This is an ad-hoc, money-making enterprise, one in which the power brokers are not bound together by anything other than the desire to perpetuate their status quo. This is a cabal, a cartel of the already wealthy getting wealthier and making sure they protect themselves in doing so. Cricket just happens to be a means.