That146;s our game, can we please have it back?

There might be a Test match but you don8217;t know if there will be a telecast. There might be a telecast but you don8217;t know who will produce it. There might be a producer but you don8217;t know which channel will beam it. There might be a channel but you don8217;t know who will select one of the two teams you will see.

So will Tendulkar stand up and use his left elbow to drive the ball through cover? Can you fight an election on that? Will Brett Lee rediscover his rhythm and get the ball to reverse? Can you negotiate a fresh deal on that? Will Langer and Hayden be the pair to watch or will it be Kumble and Harbhajan? Can you move the Supreme Court on that? Will Laxman and Dravid8230;will Gilchrist8230;can Warne, won8217;t Ponting and can Ganguly?

Oh, there I go being an idiot again. Just a ball and a bat for heaven8217;s sake. And all of us go crazy about it when it has nowhere near the fascination of a writ petition, or a stay order, or an institutional vote.

And I can well imagine myself, in my naivete, asking a question before those wonderfully gifted kids at the ESPN School Quiz, 8216;8216;So what is the primary activity of the Indian cricket board? a managing television rights b fighting elections c employing lawyers. And I can imagine the audience guffawing if a little kid, voice still sharp than gruff, saying in the civilised way his teacher taught him to, 8216;8216;Sir, I think it is none of the above. I think the correct answer is cricket.8217;8217;

Will we ever think of that kid? Or his parents? Or his friends? To whom cricket is this glorious, noble tussle, where a bat and a ball are expressions of skill, of combat, of valour? Where ambition meets ambition in this almost holy tug-of-war? Where two proud sets of players will try their very best to win and at the end of it all shake hands and say 8216;8216;well played8217;8217;? Can anybody understand that?

Can anybody understand those to whom the sound of bat on ball stirs the same emotion as a chord from Lata Mangeshkar? Maybe more? Can anybody there understand why Sachin Tendulkar is trying to use the power of his resolve to heal a tennis elbow? Can anybody understand why Shane Warne, the greatest leg spinner the game has seen, is nervous as a youngster, trying to prove himself when a page, even a chapter in history belongs to him?

Is anybody thinking cricket? Or is that too small a matter to occupy important minds? Is that really a bit like expecting Manmohan Singh and Musharraf to have a debate on whether or not to chew gum at a summit meeting? Or is it that all these important minds in election meetings and courtrooms owe their importance to the millions who feel uplifted when they see a contest between bat and ball? Isn8217;t that the truth?

So what is more important? Does it really matter who is President of the BCCI? Does it matter whether the revenue from television rights is Rs 1400 crores or 1350? Does it matter whether the Left supports the UPA or whether the BJP goes it alone or whether the North proposes a man from the West? What happened to the sense of anticipation before a thrilling contest? What happened to that nervous energy that prevented you from sleeping on time because you were wondering whether Kumble and Harbhajan can spin it enough and whether you will see the genius of Warne in this country?

Is this not what your game is about? Our game? Is this series not about the love of two countries for one sport? Won8217;t you feel a little chill on the morning of the 6th? And do you feel let down? Say so, then, because there is only one thing this series is about. Your love for the game and what cricket gives you. No more. Say so.