The Art of IPL Ownership

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It was all fun and games in 2008. The IPL launched with the glitz and glamour combining India’s finest- cricket stars, Bollywood’s biggest and the business worlds titans. Whether it was Shah Rukh Khan or Mukesh Ambani, it frankly could not get bigger.

But what has clearly emerged in the past 12 seasons is a hierarchy within the league. The Chennai Super Kings, Kolkatta Knight Riders and Mumbai Indian’s have separated themselves from the rest of the pack and while a lot of belief has been put in to the players a tremendous amount of credit must go to the management.

KKR was a struggling franchise for the first three years of the IPL where they did not qualify for the playoffs even once. Then things turned around in 2011. They made the playoffs and eventually won the title in 2012. They are now two time champions and in most seasons a team that either makes the playoffs or just misses out. What happened? The management took some tough decisions. To release Sourav Ganguly from a Kolkatta based team is like asking the Pope to move out of Italy. It is blasphemy and risky. Yet, they took this call. Putting Gambhir in as captain turned out to be a fantastic move. And when they thought Gambhir had served his time they let him go too. As it turned out the decision was timed to perfection. Gambhir went to Delhi and resigned as captain of the then Delhi Daredevils mid-season.

I guess there was never a doubt that the Ambani family would manage an investment fantastically well. But in the first two seasons they finished 5th and 7th. A revamp of their approach changed everything. They auctioned an unknown Keiron Pollard in 2010, picked up Rohit Sharma in 2011 and have consistently auctioned well including having players like Lendl Simmonds and Dwayne Smith playing for the franchise during their peaks in form and released post their peak. Nothing of course compares to the finding and development of the Pandya brothers, especially Hardik. The team has won a league high three titles, which is tied with CSK for the most by any franchise.

The third team is the Chennai Super Kings. Blessed with the best captain and a fantastic team in year one, the management has consistently put up a squad which looks so scary on paper that it is shocking they don’t win every year. No other squad has the support outside of their home town as much as CSK. Yes, the Dhoni factor plays a role in that but the owners have made the franchise brand stronger than most.

On the other side you have teams like RCB and Punjab Kings XI.

RCB has struggled over the years and a large part of that blame has to go to the management. Vijay Mallya is no longer on the sidelines, not that he had any idea what he was doing, and god only knows what the current managements interests are in the team. It feels like they own an asset and it is there because it is there. A clear example is this year’s auction. RCB highest bid was Rs 5crore for Shivam Dube. When your highest paid player is a domestic player and doesn’t even make the starting eleven for all your matches you know that you’ve completely messed things up. The less said about Punjab in the auction every year the better. The warring owners were never going help the team and it has been a disaster.

Finally, Delhi is a great example. Another perennial auction blunderer the team was bought in to by JSW Sports. This is a company that is professionally run by a CEO Mustafa Ghouse (former Davis Cup Player) whose sense of sports and management is one of the best in the country. Parth Jindal’s personal involvement and passion adds another element. The way JSW Sports run their ISL team, (current ISL Champs- Bengaluru FC) I had no doubt that they would turn the mess of Delhi’s franchise around. Frankly, I thought it would be by the 2020 or 2021 season but they have exceeded all expectations this year.

Success in the IPL is not about the biggest stars. It is about the best team. A strategic combination of domestic and international players that is balanced enough to create a winning side. Only the management can do that. Unless the other teams in the league approach their teams the same way I am afraid CSK, MI, KKR and now DC will rule the league forever. 



Mumbai Indians Photo Credit: https://circleofcricket.com/category/IPL/34457/ipl-2019-5-dependable-match-winners-for-mumbai-indians
Virat Kohli Photo Credit: http://www.coolviratkohli.com/doesnt-matter-they-win-or-lose-support-for-rcbipl-2019/

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