The CEO of Bangalore Royal Challengers, who was unceremoniously dumped, on his exit
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cricket: corporatisation
A corporate stranglehold over cricket may mean that no one wins. Star players in the IPL can only chafe at the new rulebook.
Rohit Mahajan
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Charu Sharma, the CEO of Bangalore Royal Challengers, was unceremoniously dumped less than halfway through the IPL campaign. Sharma talked to Outlook on his exit. Excerpts:
Why do you think you were sacked?
I think that's best left for the owner of the team to say, but I think there were some very unrealistic expectations in this burning desire to make something happen and win instantly and find instant solutions. It's just not how things happen in the world of sport. I believe my role was to motivate, encourage, facilitate and respect the efforts of the cricket professionals in the team. And that is what I tried to do.
After initial defeats, it seems the mood changed in the Bangalore camp...
Even if you have a good team—which we did have—there are many variables that can prevent it from winning. Especially in T20 cricket. This is not difficult to understand, this is basic. I had reiterated many, many times that this would take longer. That there are many, many more matches to play, many more seasons to come and we can improve as we go along.
There is talk of accountability, but how can it be implemented in a sports team?
All owners need to understand the concept of T20 cricket and the business of sport. You can't blame the owner of a team if the team isn't doing well; it must lie with the team. Similarly, when the team is doing well, the owner cannot take credit—#again, the credit must go to the players actually in action in the middle.
What do you think team owners have to learn from this situation?
We've had so many camps for players, there have been so many promotional events, but the thing no one has even discussed is getting the team owners sensitised (to cricket). Buying a sports team is one thing, administrating it is different. It's a new business for them, and they've got to learn it.
How?
I think there should be a seminar of the owners of the IPL teams. There they should be sensitised about what cricket means, what T20 is all about, the kind of personalities the players have, and the kind of adulation and hero-worship they have. They should be told what kind of expectations they can have from the game and the players and their business.