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.