In August of 2007, two men were attempting to temper the doze of the nation’s two favourite fixes — Bollywood and cricket. The Friday of the week that saw film-maker Ram Gopal Varma’s remake of the cult film Sholay jolt the audience with its contemporary theme, also witnessed media baron Subhash Chandra attempting to shake the seemingly unshakeable BCCI with a modern-day cricketing idea.

Within a couple of days, the movie was a certified box-office dud, leaving Varma to answer this sarcastic question on theatre attendances: “Kitne aadmi the?” And about two years later, after the mass exodus of his Indian Cricket League players, Chandra wouldn’t like to entertain that query either.

A large chunk of the ICL’s domestic players have gone, the foreign-star count is decreasing with each passing day, and since these much-publicised ego battles between the ICL and BCCI are riddled with complex moves, these final stages are like the end-game on a chess board. But in the background of issues relating to court cases, the BCCI’s pending decision on former ICL players in the IPL, and officials not known to forgive and forget, the 79 domestic players who returned to the BCCI fold wait on the sidelines. They speak about the future just as cautiously as they speak about the past. They show gratitude to their former employers for the many zeroes on the pay cheques that they’d never dreamt of getting. They talk about the world-class training facilities, internationally renowned coaches and support staff.

... contd.