Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to be extremely upset -- some say even livid -- over the manner in which Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi has ensured that Pakistan players are kept out of the latest edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza.
Sources said he is credited with the view that an "emerging window of opportunity" has been closed and Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement denouncing the decision to exclude Pakistani players from the tournament was made at the behest of the Prime Minister.
It is also learnt that Dr Singh wants Board of Control for Cricket in India chief Sharad Pawar to find ways by which they can act against Modi, who is being viewed in government circles as running a BJP agenda to embarrass the government, having suffered at the hands of the Rajasthan Congress leadership -- first Ashok Gehlot, who took him on, and then C P Joshi, who defeated him in the Rajasthan Cricket Board elections.
Keeping in mind the behind-the-scenes moves and Track II diplomacy to somehow bring a note of rationality and sanity between the two countries in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Prime Minister is of the view that at this sensitive juncture in Pakistan's history, when the country is itself about to topple over the edge, the IPL has inflicted the single biggest blow to India-Pakistan relations.
How the government recovers ground is a moot point under discussion in PMO circles, but, certainly, the sprinkling of statements, whether from Shah Rukh Khan or P Chidambaram, are being seen as indicators to put matters in the right perspective.
Last year Chidambaram adopted a tough stand against the IPL, warning Modi and company against holding the second edition of the tournament in the midst of the general elections, as he would not be able to provide security. But, instead of calling off the event, or even postponing it, Modi decided to shift the action to South Africa.
The situation has now worsened, with the Pakistan Cricket Board retaliating against the IPL's decision not to buy Pakistani players by withdrawing the no objection certificates they had issued to their players to participate in the upcoming third edition.
The decision effectively means that no Pakistani cricketer can now take part in this season's IPL even if the franchises want to rope them in as substitutes.
A statement from the board said all NOCs issued to players for IPL 3 stand revoked.
With the auction fiasco degenerating into a tit-for-tat between India and Pakistan, sources in the PMO said Chidambaram's likely visit to Islamabad to attend the SAARC Home Ministers' conference later in February may be an opportunity to once again send the signal that the government had no hand in developments at IPL auction, even though Modi is keen to tell anyone who wants to listen that government prodding was behind the decision.
