Agartala Would Be Better

Compared to a dainty old village in Ireland where not a soul would give bat an eyelid for an international cricket match, Agartala definitely would be a better option as a host city for a India v Australia ODI series.

The least the BCCI should do is look after it's own players and arrange matches in cities that would easily cater to their nutritional needs. How on Earth do they expect Harbhajan Singh to find his cholle bhature in a quaint little Irish town where nobody would have even heard of India's greatest gift to the Western world - butter chicken.

Alas, you and I both know the BCCI cares as much for it's players as an ivory merchant does for an elephant. For this reason and a certain contract that with Zee Network that will earn it big, BIG money, the BCCI has frantically negotiated a deal with the Irish to stage an ODI series in their back yard.

I would love to use the word "host", instead of "stage, but, the matches will not be played in Agartala, hence my hands are tied.

To be brutally honest with you, I cannot conjure up a plausible reason as to why the BCCI needs to inflict endless torture on it's players by sending them to far flung corners of the world in, what is already, a jam-packed season.

As a fan, I can also categorically tell anyone who cares to listen that there is no, I repeat NO, excitement in watching two cricketing heavyweights battle out a meaningless series at a neutral venue.

The sooner that this message is heeded by cricket's marketing men, the better off we will all be. Not to mention the actual player's involved.

Somebody please tell the BCCI that slavery is outlawed in the Indian constitution.