When was the last time the media, the selectors, the commentators, or even the coach could speak their mind freely or take a hard call in relation to an Indian superstar? India's anchor-heavy T20 World Cup squad selection was followed closely by the Virat Kohli - Sunil Gavaskar spat, bringing back attention to the uneasy power that the holy cows of Indian cricket hold. Is this unique to India? To cricket? Are the fans to be blamed? Is there a way out? Sharda Ugra joins the gang this week to dissect why the stars reign supreme in the country of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth (and Amitabh Kant).

Shownotes:

1. Sharda's piece on the Kohli - Gavaskar tangle: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/a-virat-kohli-sunil-gavaskar-tangle-and-an-indian-cricket-reality-101715003613662.html
2. Sharda's 2015 open letter to Kohli: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sharda-ugra-a-letter-to-virat-kohli-951641
3. Sharda's piece on Shastri 2.0: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/come-to-think-of-it-whatever-happened-to-ravi-shastri-1-0-1223184

Sharda isn't on Twitter (she's smart in so many ways), but we are:

1. Bits and Pieces: https://twitter.com/bnp_cricket
2. Chops: https://twitter.com/el_chopernos
3. Srinath: https://twitter.com/srinathsripath
4. Nitin: https://twitter.com/knittins
5. PDP: https://twitter.com/prashantdptweet