It has been reported that Dhoni offered Harbhajan the last over. Harbhajan averred. He was not confident of the pitch of his offspin yorkers. Sharma bowled and the rest is now embedded in the annals of cricketing lore.

This cameo (interpreted to suit my purpose) contains messages for our political leadership. It shows what sound leadership can achieve. Here’s a youthful captain on the horns of a dilemma. He approaches arguably his most experienced bowler. The bowler admits his shortcoming and by doing so foregoes the opportunity for individual glory. He does so, I will presume, in the interest of the team. The buck passes to the captain. He has to take the ultimate decision. Should he persist with experience or should he risk the unexpected? He knows that the latter if unsuccessful would trigger endless commentary and “what ifs”. He accepts the risk but then shares in the burden placed on Sharma.

The cameo is a metaphor for risk-taking and innovation. It is a metaphor for what collective spirit and conviction can achieve. It is a metaphor that is worth stretching to communicate a point to our politicians.

I have been writing a column on mainly energy related issues for several years. I was recently going through some of my older pieces and I was struck by how little has changed over the past decade or so. The issues that I wrote about then are more or less the issues of importance today. Security of energy supply was a priority a decade back. It remains on the agenda today. The decline in the production of oil/gas from our aging fields like Bombay High was a concern then; it continues to be a concern today. The debate on market pricing versus administered pricing for petroleum products like diesel and petrol was much written about. It is today an unresolved issue. Everyone talked about the inefficiencies inherent in the subsidy structure for LPG and kerosene. They continue to talk about it today. The relationship between the government and the public sector petroleum companies was the reason for operational inefficiency and was slated for review. The public sector remains shackled to the bureaucracy and operational excellence is still no more than a byword for conferences.

... contd.