Jagmohan Dalmiya addressing the media at the Kolkata airport.
Jagmohan Dalmiya said the warm welcome accorded to him at Kolkata airport on Monday night when he returned to his city as BCCI chief once again, brought tears to his eyes. But the 50-odd orphan girls who waited till 11.30 pm to welcome him, just had sleep in their eyes.
The children, 'thalis' of flowers in hands, had been waiting for long. Inmates of a charitable orphanage in Kolkata, The Refuge, they had been marshalled by Mr Dalmiya's friends and well-wishers to welcome him home.
Asked whom they were waiting to welcome, a child said, "I don't know". Asked if she knew who Jagmohan Dalmiya was, another girl sleepily shook her head.
Once Mr Dalmiya emerged, well-wishers rushed to garland him, thrusting aside the little girls. Photographers rushed in.
Shashant Daswani, a young businessman who had come to the airport to receive a friend, was shocked and took photographs and a video of the whole situation.
"Why were the girls brought to the airport at that time of night? Just because they were orphans? Would a parent have allowed a child - girl or boy - to go receive a VIP at 10.30 at night? I think not," Mr Daswani said.
His friends, Shashank Arora and Anshuman Bagri, were equally appalled.
"This is colonial hangover. If you are a cricket administrator or Mr Dalmiya's friend and want to go and welcome him, fine. But why the orphan girls?" asked Mr Arora. "Mr Dalmiya may not have known about the reception planned for him but the buck stops with him," added Mr Bagri.
Writer Shobhaa De tweeted about the incident.
So who brought the girls to the airport? There lies the twist.
The orphanage, The Refuge, names Chitrak Mitra as president and Biswaroop Dey as honorary joint secretary. Both Mr Mitra and Mr Dey are well-known cricket administrators. Mr Mitra was once BCCI vice president. Mr Dey is honorary treasurer of the Cricket Association of Bengal.