The furore over minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor's latest gaffe has had at least one positive fallout. It has created a conducive climate for a clean-up of the Indian Premier League. Even as the income tax department may have suddenly swung into action for all the wrong reasons, it cannot be anybody's case that the league should be allowed to function behind the veil of secrecy surrounding the shareholding of its franchisees.

Transparency can only be good for the game and for business as well. It is only a matter of time before people start accepting cricket as a smart business as much as a jolly good sport. With a captive audience as large as that obtains in the subcontinent, cricket can happily continue to weather many more spells of economic recession. It makes business sense, then, to say nothing of what should be a legal requirement as well, to come clean on the franchisees. This can only instil greater confidence in the league and the individual teams.

Shouldn't IPL, then, be made to shed secrecy over its franchisees?