How politicians basked in cricket's reflected glory

New Delhi/Mumbai: If you thought the reception of Team India at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai resembled a political rally, you wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Meant to be the moment of glory for the Men in Blue, the platform to felicitate them at the saw the politicians eclipse the real heroes.

While the ones who did the job for India at the T20 were relegated to the background, the politicians proved yet again that they never fight shy of appropriating glory.

As if elbowing out the cricketers wasn’t enough, Maharashtra Deputy CM R R Patil went a step ahead. "Sharad Pawar should be credited with the victory,” he said.

That’s not all. If the posters along Mumbai's roads were anything to go by, one would think that it was Patil or NCP's Awhad who knocked the stumps off Yasir Araft or took the catch at fine leg to dismiss Misbah.

“It's been a fashion to criticise the politicians for everything,” said Congress leader Rajiv Shukla.

While the NCP looked to steal the show in Mumbai, the Capital could well see game set and match go to Congress.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have already invited the team to Delhi.

That’s not all. Congress's timing and placement would be the envy of any batsmen. They were quick to draw comparisons between the just-anointed Rahul Gandhi with Dhoni, the man who led the cricket team to victory at the Wanderers.

In hindsight, maybe Ricky Ponting and his boys were warned of the Indian politicians yearning to bask in the glory, possibly the reason for the infamous Pawar-push after the Champions Trophy last year.

Moral of the story: as long as cricket and politics remain two sides of the same coin, you will be left craning your neck to catch a glimpse of blue in the sea of white.

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