| A Real Reason for Rage  Now that the Mumbai toss, the Tendulkar shoulder and the Wankhede boo is out of our systems, how about some multi-media rage over the Jaipur XI, the Mohali interloper and the Abu Dhabi farce? In Jaipur, England played a warm-up match against a Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) XI that included India's best young players led by Ajay Jadeja, once banned for his alleged links with bookies. The ban is over and like all men, Jadeja is due his redemption. He has done better than most, as TV expert and P3P, effortlessly moving around the moral vacuum that is Delhi high-society. But someone in the wisdom of the new, "transparent" and "professionalised" BCCI thought it was acceptable that Jadeja lead a team which also featured in its ranks Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, V.R.V. Singh, R.P. Singh. The match was friendly, and as hosts, the RCA believed they were entitled to pick their players. Had they fielded an all-RCA XI, they could, if they liked, had made a statue of Rana Pratap the captain. But the moment India players were involved, the BCCI was involved. The national selectors now say they were not consulted. Whatever the team was called, making Jadeja its captain was an act of brazen shamelessness. It was proof that at the upper reaches of the BCCI where such decisions are made and agreed upon, foresight and conscience are in short supply. In Mohali, a British Asian was given a press accreditation and then hauled off to the police because journalists raised an alarm that he was actually a punter who used the press box's WI-FI connections to place online bets. The accreditation may have been sheer oversight on the part of a harassed office. Or then again it could not. In matters of betting and punters, there is no such thing as being too careful. Now to Abu Dhabi where the Indians will play two ODIs against Pakistan in April to raise money for earthquake relief. The team's calendar has left them breathless and these ODIs are reminiscent of India's meaningless matches in Sharjah, Singapore, Toronto and Nairobi. The cause is a very worthy one but it will do nothing for a tired team. If the BCCI really wanted to put their hands where their hearts supposedly are, they could just as well reach into pockets and write out a fat cheque. Don't they keep on about how they make money for the Board than anyone else in its history? | 
