Delhi's overpriced, badly-designed Feroz Shah Kotla is a showpiece indicative of the wrong direction India is taking, writes Mike Marqusee in the Guardian. As an eyewitness to the whole farce during the abandoned India-Sri Lanka ODI – with the DDCA true to form, despite the hype – he felt it was a metaphor for India today.

Our seats costs Rs 500 each (£7), the cheapest available. That may sound like a steal, but in India it represents a serious investment. To put it in context, it takes a cashier at a Delhi McDonald's 36 hours to earn the price of a ticket to the Kotla. It takes a cashier in a London McDonald's ten hours to earn the price of a ticket to Lord's.