But to those who have been following Lele's rising career graph from a diploma holder in mechanical and chemical engineering to becoming the Board's official mascot, his latest utterances and subsequent denials mean nothing. Lele's second name is `Denial' and he shoots his mouth off as often as he and a retinue of officials must be flying all over the country and the cricket-playing world to attend meetings, stay in five-star hotels and lord over the players. These pressing engagements take place almost every second day and all at the expense of the Board.

When he and Ajit Wadekar selected a Delhi player in the Indian A team and later found out much to their embarrassment that they had picked the wrong person, Lele promptly issued a statement, blaming the press for writing the wrong name. ``We have selected a different player, but the press got us wrong,'' Lele was to say. The whole episode embarrassed the Board enough to censure him at its annual general body meeting held at Jaipur in September where elections for its office-bearers were held. Yet the man was re-elected as the Board's secretary.

Obviously, the Baroda Cricket Association official has the backing of enough units and removing him could have possibly meant loss of power for the Jagmohan Dalmiya group. For the cricket Board which is represented by 32 affiliate units, power-brokering is more important than matters cricketing and men like Lele fit the bill to the tee. So what if once a while they put their foot in the mouth, get into slanging bouts with the coach of the team and undermine the morale of the Indian team on the eve of an important series and talk and do everything under the sun which will do more and more damage to the fabric of the game in the country.

When a Rahul Dravid, a Saurav Ganguly or a Robin Singh say something regarding the team's performance they are promptly censured. Lele had sought an apology from the three when the trio had spoken to the press after the World Cup. The Board imposes iron discipline on the players in the ostensible name of the team's interest, but the real intention to maim the actual stars is to keep their power intact and see to it that nothing scandalous comes out in open about them.

Now, when their secretary himself has on innumerable occasions breached this code of discipline and today, denials notwithstanding, put India's cricketing conscience to shame, shouldn't action be taken against him?

(with ROHIT JOSHI in Vadodara)