IPL: Star wars in the dressing room
IPL NEWS: When big money and big names are associated with something, egos are bound to clash. Same is the case with IPL. After the slapgate incident and Mallya voicing his displeasure, there is an apparent rift in the dressing room of the Knight Riders..
WITH THE Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament steaming full speed ahead, towards its final, it can be safely said that it has, so far, succeeded beyond everyone’s expectations. In terms of organisation, barring the lights going out at Eden Gardens, it has been mostly glitch free. The crowds have dutifully come in huge numbers for most of the matches and everyone is having an extended cricket party.
We have had lots of exciting (the purists may not agree) cricket, some spectacular failures (Royal Challengers) and generous amounts of eye candy in the form of the imported cheerleaders and the Bollywood celebrities. Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta have been in constant attendance and with them have come a host of other Bollywood stars, political stars (Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi) and the big names from the world of business. Thus, we have seen Nita Ambani whole heartedly cheering her team on and the cherubic Mukesh Junior waving the team flag.
IPL has also succeeded in providing international exposure to the new players. It has been a pleasure to watch the players from various nationalities bonding well and playing together towards the victory of their teams. The Aussies, who had such strained relationship with the Indian team just a few months ago, have emerged as the super achievers of the tournament, playing like complete professionals. Glenn McGrath has been an exemplary role model. The camera has caught every smile and every frown on his face as he rejoices when he plays well and chides himself when he doesn’t.
As with any tournament of such breadth, the controversies also have come thick and fast. Some have been serious in nature (Sreesanth-Bhajji Slapgate) and the others just political posturing (Thackeray’s rant against the inclusion of Pakistani players). Vijay Mallya famously sacked his team’s CEO, Charu Sharma, and aired his grievances very publicly. Mukesh Ambani, like a consummate businessman (with very very deep pockets), has left the team affairs to its managers and confined himself to occasional appearances at the matches. Preity has been a great cheerleader who has cheered her team along with her beau Ness Wadia but without making a great fuss about her star status. Her team has probably benefited from this non interference and after a disastrous start, has gone from strength to strength. And then there is King Khan.
From day one he has been at the forefront, cheering his team along and making stadium full of spectators swoon with his star charisma. He has danced, done the Mexican wave, blown kisses and punched the air with his fist at every victory of his team. He has been there for them even in their defeats and has sweated over each lost opportunity.
As the series has progressed, Khan has moved from the stadium bleachers to the edge of the field, to the dugout and then on to the field to hug all the players. Predictably, his increasing and very public involvement with his team’s affairs has brought controversies in its wake. First, the authorities saw red when they found Shahrukh snuggled cozily next to his team’s players in the team’s dugout. They objected to his continued presence in the team’s dressing room and in the dugout saying it was prohibited under the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules. It helps to have the chairman of the IPL, Lalit Modi, as your partner in the team’s ownership and after Shahrukh famously fumed on television he was granted permission to ‘dance’ all around his team anywhere he chooses to.
Khan though a genuine lover of sports and an incredibly energetic star has, perhaps, erred on the side of excess. It is undeniable that he brings great energy and an infectious enthusiasm to the IPL matches that he attends but he needs to be a tad careful about how much he lets his star presence loom over his cricket team. Already there has been news in The Times of India about not all being well between him and Sourav Dada. Though unconfirmed, there is news of his undue interference in team affairs. Dada is not happy about Khan declaring that the coach will take all the decisions for the team in the next season. Dada has always had difficulties with the team coaches (remember Greg Chappell) and he is unlikely to take this new Khan diktat lying down. Though Dada has denied all news of strained relations with Khan, the media is reading a lot into his non attendance at a press conference to announce Knight Riders’ tie-up with a website.
More serious, however, are the reports that Khan wanted the team to field first in the last Knight Riders match against Chennai but Dada went ahead with his plans to bat first. Eventually, the Knight Riders lost by three runs on Duckworth-Lewis rule following a rain interruption. Khan is reported to have been extremely upset about the whole thing. If there is truth in these reports then it is a serious thing. Khan trying to tell a team captain what to do in a cricket match is like Dada coming on a film set and telling Khan how to emote and how to sing and dance in a film role. Team ownership should not be seen as a carte blanche for interference in cricketing decisions. Imagine what it would do a team’s camaraderie and morale if they learn that their captain himself has to dance to a team owner’s tune. Shahrukh, perhaps, needs to introspect and step back a bit so that the respect and position of the team captain is not eroded.
His love for the game notwithstanding, IPL is a business venture for Khan and the other team owners and they all would want good returns on their investments,
but surely this is not the way to go. Khan may have doggedly won his way into the team dugout, but is it really a victory? To me it smacks more of a display of his power. After all, what is it that he needs to say to his team players that can only be said by sitting in the dugout? These are mostly professional players who know what to do to win a match. Khan would have us believe that if he were not there in the dressing room, hugging the players (and hogging all the limelight) then his player’s morale would collapse like a house of cards. This is utter nonsense. Shahrukh would do better to dance and sing for the spectators benefit and leave the cricketing decisions to the captain and the coach.
WITH THE Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament steaming full speed ahead, towards its final, it can be safely said that it has, so far, succeeded beyond everyone’s expectations. In terms of organisation, barring the lights going out at Eden Gardens, it has been mostly glitch free. The crowds have dutifully come in huge numbers for most of the matches and everyone is having an extended cricket party.
We have had lots of exciting (the purists may not agree) cricket, some spectacular failures (Royal Challengers) and generous amounts of eye candy in the form of the imported cheerleaders and the Bollywood celebrities. Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta have been in constant attendance and with them have come a host of other Bollywood stars, political stars (Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi) and the big names from the world of business. Thus, we have seen Nita Ambani whole heartedly cheering her team on and the cherubic Mukesh Junior waving the team flag.
IPL has also succeeded in providing international exposure to the new players. It has been a pleasure to watch the players from various nationalities bonding well and playing together towards the victory of their teams. The Aussies, who had such strained relationship with the Indian team just a few months ago, have emerged as the super achievers of the tournament, playing like complete professionals. Glenn McGrath has been an exemplary role model. The camera has caught every smile and every frown on his face as he rejoices when he plays well and chides himself when he doesn’t.
As with any tournament of such breadth, the controversies also have come thick and fast. Some have been serious in nature (Sreesanth-Bhajji Slapgate) and the others just political posturing (Thackeray’s rant against the inclusion of Pakistani players). Vijay Mallya famously sacked his team’s CEO, Charu Sharma, and aired his grievances very publicly. Mukesh Ambani, like a consummate businessman (with very very deep pockets), has left the team affairs to its managers and confined himself to occasional appearances at the matches. Preity has been a great cheerleader who has cheered her team along with her beau Ness Wadia but without making a great fuss about her star status. Her team has probably benefited from this non interference and after a disastrous start, has gone from strength to strength. And then there is King Khan.
From day one he has been at the forefront, cheering his team along and making stadium full of spectators swoon with his star charisma. He has danced, done the Mexican wave, blown kisses and punched the air with his fist at every victory of his team. He has been there for them even in their defeats and has sweated over each lost opportunity.
As the series has progressed, Khan has moved from the stadium bleachers to the edge of the field, to the dugout and then on to the field to hug all the players. Predictably, his increasing and very public involvement with his team’s affairs has brought controversies in its wake. First, the authorities saw red when they found Shahrukh snuggled cozily next to his team’s players in the team’s dugout. They objected to his continued presence in the team’s dressing room and in the dugout saying it was prohibited under the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules. It helps to have the chairman of the IPL, Lalit Modi, as your partner in the team’s ownership and after Shahrukh famously fumed on television he was granted permission to ‘dance’ all around his team anywhere he chooses to.
Khan though a genuine lover of sports and an incredibly energetic star has, perhaps, erred on the side of excess. It is undeniable that he brings great energy and an infectious enthusiasm to the IPL matches that he attends but he needs to be a tad careful about how much he lets his star presence loom over his cricket team. Already there has been news in The Times of India about not all being well between him and Sourav Dada. Though unconfirmed, there is news of his undue interference in team affairs. Dada is not happy about Khan declaring that the coach will take all the decisions for the team in the next season. Dada has always had difficulties with the team coaches (remember Greg Chappell) and he is unlikely to take this new Khan diktat lying down. Though Dada has denied all news of strained relations with Khan, the media is reading a lot into his non attendance at a press conference to announce Knight Riders’ tie-up with a website.
More serious, however, are the reports that Khan wanted the team to field first in the last Knight Riders match against Chennai but Dada went ahead with his plans to bat first. Eventually, the Knight Riders lost by three runs on Duckworth-Lewis rule following a rain interruption. Khan is reported to have been extremely upset about the whole thing. If there is truth in these reports then it is a serious thing. Khan trying to tell a team captain what to do in a cricket match is like Dada coming on a film set and telling Khan how to emote and how to sing and dance in a film role. Team ownership should not be seen as a carte blanche for interference in cricketing decisions. Imagine what it would do a team’s camaraderie and morale if they learn that their captain himself has to dance to a team owner’s tune. Shahrukh, perhaps, needs to introspect and step back a bit so that the respect and position of the team captain is not eroded.
His love for the game notwithstanding, IPL is a business venture for Khan and the other team owners and they all would want good returns on their investments,
but surely this is not the way to go. Khan may have doggedly won his way into the team dugout, but is it really a victory? To me it smacks more of a display of his power. After all, what is it that he needs to say to his team players that can only be said by sitting in the dugout? These are mostly professional players who know what to do to win a match. Khan would have us believe that if he were not there in the dressing room, hugging the players (and hogging all the limelight) then his player’s morale would collapse like a house of cards. This is utter nonsense. Shahrukh would do better to dance and sing for the spectators benefit and leave the cricketing decisions to the captain and the coach.
Labels: dressing room, Star वार्स, इप्ल
posted by Cricpro at 1:20 AM
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