One of the two ‘Siamese’ obsessions of the nation, cricket, has slightly receded from our attention, at least for a day, as the IPL is over and India is yet to play its World Cup opener. The other IPL, however, the mega ‘Indian Political League’, is busy occupying our minds, even a day after the election results are out.

Cricket`s tremendous popularity in South Asia places its top players among the region`s most famous people, some of whom have used their celebrity status to advance in their political careers.