IPL makes a grand start

With the completion of a quarter century of matches in the inauagral IPL, I've decided to answer a few questions raised at the beginning of the tournament.
Quality of cricket: Its been entertaining throughout with the overseas talent thrilling the local crowds with their commitment and skills. Unfortunately we've only seen a handful of thrillers despite T20 being the shortest format in the game.
Player commitment: The Australians have been the frontrunners, displaying laudable professionalism and commitment during their brief stints. Shane Warne should especially be mentioned for his ability to inspire his group of largely inexperienced youngsters.
On-field behaviour: Unfortunately the one area that the Indian stars have performed the best at, with Harbhajan, Ganguly and Sreesanth all guilty of unpardonable behaviour.
Franchise loyalty: From reports emanating from India, only Kolkata has been able to muster some real support. Unsurprising given that Bengalis are a very partial lot. Must also help that the owner of the franchise is Shah Rukh Khan who has pulled out all the stops to to raise the profile of his team.
Biggest Winner Lalit Modi the IPL Commissioner. With the astounding success of the tournament at the time of writing, the present regime of which Modi is an integral part is certain to control the reins of the BCCI for a long time.
Biggest Loser Sreesanth in the long run. Harbhajan may have copped the suspension but theres no doubt in everyones mind who was the real culprit.
Royal Challenger? Rahul Dravid. His poor decisions both in picking his squad and then juggling the batting order for every game has challenged all basic cricket common sense.
With the second half of the tournament underway sans most of the international stars, my picks for the semis would be Mohali, Kolkata, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Dear BCCI, "Shut Up and Shape Up"

Does anyone else think its time someone put a gag order on our loose tongued BCCI officials. It seems not a day goes by that one doesn't hear of an outlandish quote from either Niranjan Shah, Rajeev Shukla or Lalit Modi. In contrast the Indian team has gone about its cricket with a great sense of purpose and unity that has earned it the respect and admiration of both the opposition fans and cricketers. I find it poor taste and highly un-Indian the manner in which BCCI officials have issued ultimatums to other boards and tried to tutor them on their internal decisions. The Indian board is currently behaving like an arrogant 'lala' (Indian moneylender) dictating terms to those desperate for a share of its riches. While the current board has been impressive in monetizing its brand its report card on basic matters like tour scheduling, setting up a working website, hiring of a new national coach and managing its own employees such as Dilip Vengsarkar, has been woeful. There still remain much more important development issues to be resolved in Indian cricket than engaging in vulgar rhetoric that only portrays the country as a bully, when we'd rather be respected as a nation for our on-field exploits.