IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was at his trademark best, self-righteous, with a cocky countenance to boot when he announced yesterday that IPL-2 was being shifted to foreign shores. Just review his sanctimonious over-dose; " Integrity of the game", " toughest decision of my life", " it's not about money and profits", " it's about the people and the game of cricket" blah-blah. Now the problem with the man is that he has become such a motor-mouth on high trajectory on a steep incline, that even a momentary lapse has begun to cause a huge cascading fall. It happens ! Modi is experiencing the law of averages off-field what happens to a man in white on the 22 yard pitch.

As expected, the IPL has become a political slug-fest; with NCP supreme Sharad Pawar at the helm of affairs , perhaps, that was somewhat inevitable. But what the BJP "affiliated" Modi has done is to with adroit subterfuge, use the cricket tournament to embarrass the ruling government led by the Congress in New Delhi. But Modi's deliberate ploy looks remarkably obvious even to the less discerning; even the most bitter critic of the current regime will agree that national security is a bigger issue than a sequel of summer entertainment, pregnant with lethal risk.

Time to pose Mr Modi some fundamental questions.

1) Modi was or should have been fully aware of the Indian election months; so why did he not anticipate a conflict of dates? And why just the Lahore attack on Sri Lankan cricketers? Shouldn't security have been a crucial issue post-26/11 anyway ? Where was his Plan B ? Or Plan C that he was boasting about?

2) Interestingly, it is allegedly Mr Modi himself who was playing political games with the ex-Rajasthan government, a BJP one, led by Ms Vasundhara Raje. Can he deny it? Isn't it rather strange that within hours of the IPL shift, both Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi , BJP spokespeople and leaders were the first ones to make political capital of the entire episode?

3) After 26/11 and Lahore, only an infantile mind with little grey cells would have suggested private security as a solution for handling the chaotic IPL rush. Was that your great innovation, Mr Modi? Or was his intrinsic hubris ( " the IPL will happen at any cost" ) that has been primary responsible for this chaotic madness?

4) India's general election is no ordinary event. The world' largest democracy goes to the ballot box for 700 million voters , with maybe at least 350 million voting ( that is bigger than the entire US population). If doing a cricket tournament for a handful of teams can become such a logistical nightmare, can we even compare the magnitude of the election apparatus required? Especially, in terms of heightened security threats to the national leaders, general public and the cricketers themselves?

5) Since cricket is a religion and opium etc for the common man , how would either an abbreviated or rescheduled tournament have hurt the IPL? At worse, it could have been deferred to another year ( 2010) altogether, resulting in no financial losses to anyone , with just a mutually acceptable contractual extension?

6) Since now Mr Modi has been repeating ad nauseam about IPL being nothing but a reality show, why are they applying double standards by talking about fan-base, city loyalty and community creation? Frankly, beyond broadcasting revenue and tournament sponsorships , the IPL has little to do with the paying public. That is a franchisee's baby, only, I guess.

7) Does Mr Modi realize how tough this will be on Indian cricket players , who have been traveling relentlessly and will now be out for another two months in an alien land? Also, the T20 World Cup in June will only add to their home-sickness and mental weariness. Shouldn't the players have been consulted before taking such a unilateral step ?

8) And by the way, how will overseas IPL help the " Indian" Premier League? Why should a Johannesburg resident ( am assuming England will be rather cold ) come seven times to Centurion Park to watch teams play T20 when there maybe just a lone South African in the midst? As for the Indian diaspora, can they really substitute for the local zealot?

9) By blaming the government of India , the BCCI has revealed that it has indeed become a political vehicle , subject to intentional manipulation. As a Home Minister, doesn't P Chidambaram have the critical responsibility of maintaining the highest security levels for all ? Let us be honest, India's security infrastructure is indeed appallingly weak, and the government has been transparent in stating it is a Herculean challenge and stressing the system. The last thing on earth we need is a terrorist attack in the middle of national elections and a cricket circus, right?

10) Does Mr Modi really care for cricketers and Indian cricket, or is IPL now going to be the center-stage because of it's commercial muscle? What about the careers and prospects of all the young blood in ICL who have been disenfranchised and thrown out? What about the inevitable burn-out ? Or is it all to just ensure that IPL is a law unto itself , it's own self-motivated manifesto driving the future of world cricket? Frankly, the people of this country , no matter how much they love their cricket, do understand their priorities. There is life beyond cricket, for them as well. The sky will not fall on our heads if IPL were not held this year, Mr Modi.

I don't think Mr Modi will answer any of the above questions. At best he might just say, " tomorrow" and then postpone it . But that's what he should have done to the IPL actually.