In Mumbai, when the Shiv Sena is likely to come knocking, you quickly get your defence in order before opening the door.

So, while a few members of the revered Cricket Club of India (CCI) had been opposing Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan featuring in the mural in the annexe of All-Rounder restaurant, the strong possibility of Shiv Sainiks turning up and vandalising, post Pulwama, made the institution place a white sheet over the Imran-specific portion of the wall.

That apart, “two-three photographs” of Imran, on the CCI’s first floor, were taken down and kept in “safe custody.”

For now, one gathers, the official line is that both steps “are temporary, respecting the prevailing national mood.”

Whether it's the CCI, the Punjab Cricket Association or the Rajasthan Cricket Association, all of whom are affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it seems to be only about going with the flow.

The Shiv Sainiks did, indeed, come knocking — shortly after 5.00 pm last Friday, the day after the suicide bombing in Pulwama which eventually took the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

Disturbing questions have been doing the rounds at the CCI ever since: Who tipped off the Shiv Sainiks? Was it a member or an employee? Or, possibly, both?

“Five Shiv Sainiks turned up and asked if any portrait of Imran had been put up at the CCI. Only one was allowed in and shown the mural which had the Pakistan Prime Minister covered...

“Apparently, the sequence of events has been narrated in a strictly confidential email from the CEO (Air Commodore N.K. Jha) to the 14 members of the current Executive Committee,” a well-placed source told The Telegraph on Monday evening.

The mural, by the way, also honours other iconic all-rounders: Sir Garry Sobers, Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Jacques Kallis.

There’s no visual of Sir Richard Hadlee, but a section of the restaurant’s wall has been dedicated to him.

Incidentally, the mural has been around “for at least five years.”

Another well-placed source, who too didn’t wish to be identified, said: “The Shiv Sainiks don’t listen to reason, they straightaway resort to tod phod. Nobody wants vandalism...

“From what I know, the CEO has informed the CCI’s Executive Committee that Imran’s mural simply had to be covered once the Pakistan-based JeM accepted responsibility for Pulwama...

“We all know how the JeM is flourishing. That factor and anticipating trouble from the Shiv Sainiks, a white cloth was put over Imran’s mural and his photographs kept away from the public eye...

“It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

According to yet another well-placed source, in Mumbai, Imran’s mural had also been “covered” during the 2018 AGM, in September, five-six weeks after Imran was sworn-in as Prime Minister.

Why then?

“The official reason was repairs, but nobody got convinced. That decision had everything to do with a handful of members wanting Imran’s mural to be pulled down,” the well-placed source revealed.

An Executive Committee meeting has been called, largely on the Imran issue, on February 28. Indications are that a majority of its 14 members could vote for Imran to be erased from the CCI.

But would that, in any way, make any difference at all?

There may soon come a point in time when India-Pakistan relations improve and Imran is still in the seat of power. Indeed, what then?

Food for thought, perhaps...