sab maya...The real trophy, valued atabout $130,000 in money terms, but priceless for any cricket lover, was not at the Wankhede stadium,as the world had been led to believe.
It was rotting at a secure government godown, having been seized by the Mumbai Customs on its arrival from Colombo after the Sri Lanka-New Zealand semifinals on March 29.
The reason: The trophy, according to Indias Byzantine customs rules, was not eligible for exemption from import duty! And a combination of bumbling babudom, and the ICCs bungling, ensured that it stayed under lock and key at the airport. Now, it will be flying back to the International Cricket Councils (ICC) Dubai headquarters on Monday without having once being actually touched by the team which had fought so hard to win it.