Rahul Gandhi does it again – bowls another no-ball of logic and follows it up with a long appeal.
This time, the self-appointed umpire of morality questions Jay Shah’s elevation as ICC chairman, wondering aloud how someone who is not a cricketer can head the game’s highest body.
He sounds genuinely offended, as if cricketing credentials were ever a criterion for running cricket boards. By that yardstick, India’s politics should only be run by professional comedians – a qualification Rahul would clear with flying colours.
The opposition’s googly
Rahul’s heartburn, of course, has little to do with the sport and everything to do with the surname. Jay happens to be the son of BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah – and that, in Rahul’s view, is reason enough to declare it a conflict of interest.
The irony is rich, considering it comes from the crown prince of India’s original family-run enterprise, the Congress Party. This obstreperous youth icon of India’s GoP – grand old party, not game of politics, though the difference blurs daily – seems to have forgotten that his own team sheet reads like a family register.
Selective amnesia league
The leader of the opposition, at the tender age of fifty-six, suffers from a chronic case of selective recall. He conveniently overlooks that Sharad Pawar – an INDI Alliance ally and no cricketer by any stretch – presided over the ICC and the BCCI.
He also forgets that Rajeev Shukla, a former journalist, political commentator and former chairman of IPL, from his Congress party, is currently the BCCI’s honorary vice-president and as of late September 2025, even served as its interim president.
But why let facts spoil a good outburst? In Rahul’s world, memory is like Wi-Fi – strong only when it suits him.
Dynasty’s own dugout
And since we are discussing credentials, perhaps Rahul could enlighten us on what sport his late father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi excelled in, for India’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – to be named after him.
Was it marathon jogging behind convoy cars, or the endurance sport of smiling through scandals? Likewise, what exactly did Indira Gandhi have to do with aviation, apart from grounding airlines during emergencies, to have half the nation’s airports named after her?
Why, for instance, was the Hyderabad–Ramagundam four-lane highway in Telangana named Rajiv Rahadari? Was the late Rajiv an infrastructure developer, a civil engineer, or a toll gate operator?
And why did the current Congress government in Telangana name pucca houses for BPL families as Indiramma Indlu? Was the late Indira a real estate visionary or a housing board official?
Apparently, in Congress culture, no project is complete unless christened after a family member – whether it runs on tar, cement or taxpayer sentiment.
One could go on – with roads, ports, universities and government schemes bearing the names of Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and Sanjay, none of whom were known for sporting prowess, road-building or infrastructure management.
Game, set and dynasty
If Jayesh Shah’s appointment is nepotism, then by Rahul’s own logic, India must embark on the largest renaming exercise in history. Start with the Nehru Stadium, move to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, then sweep through the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and every Gandhi Bhavan in sight.
The hypocrisy is almost sporting – except Rahul keeps changing the rules mid-match. For him, nepotism is foul only when practiced by others; when his own family does it, it is legacy.
The super over
Rahul’s bowling has always been consistent – wide, unpredictable and guaranteed to miss the stump of logic. Each time he opens his mouth, one wonders whether he is playing cricket or charades.
Perhaps, instead of worrying about who chairs the ICC, he should first win a local match – say, the Jubilee Hills bye-election.
Until then, the dynasty’s dugout might do well to stay quiet when discussing merit. After all, in politics as in cricket, it is runs on the board that count – not surnames on the pavilion.
