The Indian team’s flight from Chennai to Colombo on Monday afternoon ran into take-off trouble because its passengers, standing in the aisle with their snazzy cell phones, couldn’t get enough of the stars sitting in business class. Team India, now in new brown attire, are back for another dose of international cricket — once again in Sri Lanka.

Squeezing in the series might be good for the financial health of both the cricket boards, but it could also be a classic case of killing the golden goose. It’s Sri Lanka’s turn to host another hurriedly arranged series, just five months after the Asia Cup, and a full-fledged bilateral series. Sri Lanka, to stress the point further, are due to arrive in India again later this year for three Tests and five ODIs.

Everything about these five upcoming one-dayers, and one T20 match, seems chaotic. Mahendra Singh Dhoni unfurled the national flag in Chennai this morning, sang the national anthem, dashed off to the airport, did some duty-free perfume shopping in Colombo airport, took a short nap, and then rushed off to attend the trophy-unveiling function. He stood waiting for half an hour before heading to the dais with Mahela Jayawardene, only to realise that the trophy hadn’t arrived yet, and there would just be a symbolic handshake with his rival skipper to inaugurate the series.

A quick hello to the Indian High Commissioner at 6 pm — to hear about growing good relations between India and Sri Lanka and listen to some Hindi film songs — before Team India took a four-hour journey to Dambulla late in the evening. By the end, Dhoni just wanted his team to get a good night’s sleep and an organised practice session on Tuesday.

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