SUNIL NARULA's THE CONTRARIAN - Just a short while ago, Ravindra Jadeja was simply a member of the India under-19 team that won the junior World Cup in Malaysia. He then got into the IPL, into the senior Indian team, into the business of lakhs and crores and now into the quagmire that he finds himself.

SANDEEP BAMZAI's NAKED EYE - Record busting attendances, gravity defying transfers and gangbuster hoopla notwithstanding, the English Premier League is a dead loss. Its business model flawed. Maybe there is a lesson in all this for the Indian Premier League where franchise owners are similarly making losses, despite claims made otherwise.

SUNIL NARULA's THE CONTRARIAN - If India wants to be the number one Test team on a consistent basis, it will have to develop or discover at least one tearway fast bowler (if not two). Someone whom the batsmen do not want to face. Do we see one coming along? Alas! No one even on the horizon.

PETER HUTTON'S INDUSTRY SPEAK - Worldwide the trend is clearly moving to the cricket board paying for their own production and as a result, the coverage supporting a distinct editorial line. The first implication of all this is that the production becomes less critical of the home team and its board.

DESH GAURAV SEKHRI's INSIDE OUT - Men’s tennis is deep, and this is an extremely exciting time for it. Factor in the records that Roger Federer is setting, and it is also likely to be the most lucrative phase in a long time for the sport. Any sport with an elite front-runner who nevertheless is challenged frequently, is a bankable option.

SUNIL NARULA's THE CONTRARIAN - Bangladesh series was always going to be good for statistics and that is exactly what it ended up being. But the board, selectors and pundits should now come out of this euphoria of beating Bangadesh and reflect on the terrible setback of the junior team in the Under-19 World Cup also.

SUNIL NARULA's THE CONTRARIAN - The recent IPL auction has proven to be a disaster for Pakistani cricketers. But it has really been a boon for some West Indian players. The IPL auction underscored the fact that a new brand of West Indian cricket is waiting to explode in the days to come.

PETER HUTTON'S INDUSTRY SPEAK - Major live international sport live on the web without any charge to the viewer is a radical concept that challenges the basic tenet of the worlds sport's TV business. With the IPL, we have learnt to sneer at our own risk - it is certainly a solution that will suit the franchises for now, and one to watch with interest.

DESH GAURAV SEKHRI's INSIDE OUT - Now that Sahara and some state governments have bailed out Hockey India by offering financial assistance, as well as with other offers of support coming in from numerous quarters, the deadlock between the players and the federation seems to be over.

SANDEEP BAMZAI's NAKED EYE - Whatever has happened to the long assembly line of quality batsmen that Mumbai used to throw up with regularity. Middle class Maharashtrian boys who stepped up to the plate and inherited the mantle vacated by another great. The city has had this tradition of passing the baton from one generation of great batsman to another.