Done with 'exposure', is Lalu's son ready for IPL 5?

There are certain perks to being the son of a powerful politician – you hobnob with the rich and the famous, get picked for teams regardless of your performance levels, you are sent on ’tours’ with the Indian under-19 team to get international exposure and even become part of an IPL team… sharing dressing room space without ever playing a match. And if all else fails, you can always turn back to politics. [caption id=“attachment_261139” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“The former Bihar CM’s son has also joined the Under 19 team in Malaysia. File image. Screen grab from CNN-IBN”]  [/caption] Tejashwi, son of former railway minister and and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, has been part of the Delhi Daredevils since the start of the league in 2008. But despite not playing even a single match for the franchise, the 22-year-old still gets paid (anywhere in the region of Rs 30-40 lakh over four years… not exactly peanuts for just turning up) and continues to remain an ‘integral’ part of the squad. The Delhi Daredevils, owned by the GMR group, have clearly picked him for reasons that are not exactly cricketing. Tejashwi hasn’t played first-class cricket since February 2010 but he has continued to remain part of the IPL team. According to a report in the Indian Express, Tejashwi is sure that his chance will come this round.

“It has been frustrating for me. Others have played but I am still waiting for my opportunity. But as much as I want to play, it’s also about the right team combination and there are so many other good all-rounders. It has been nice to be in the company of so many international players and it’s good to share the dressing room with them,” he says.

It’s good for Tejashwi to share the dressing room with them. That much we are sure of, but we can’t say the same for the players. Lalu’s son though has made it a habit – sharing the dressing room with illustrious team-mates that is. In 2008, when India’s under-19 team won the World Cup – Tejashwi was present there too. The story goes that the 15-member Indian team was picked, Lalu’s son wasn’t part of it. But he wanted to party with his ‘mates,’ so Lalu made a few calls. The next thing one knew the BCCI had changed the rules. They managed to arm-twist the ICC, sent an additional five players and guess what, that included Tejashwi too. Still funnier was the bit that none of the five players – who were supposed to represent the five zones – were even part of the probables list. The BCCI’s official response then was that Tejashwi along with the other four had been sent to get some ‘international exposure.’ `International exposure’ has also been given new meaning by the manner is which BCCI appoints managers for India’s tour. The man currently on the job is Muhammad Aslam Goni, chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), who has been accused in the JKCA scam where officials allegedly swindled crores of BCCI funds. Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this happen and this won’t be the last time either. There have been many more instances that come to mind but who cares? Indeed, the immortal lines of CLR James come to mind: ‘What do they know of cricket, who only cricket know?’