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In Conversation with Manoj Badale, Co-Owner, Rajasthan Royals...

How did the IPL journey start for you? Talk us through that first phone call/meeting?
The IPL journey started when we first sought to get our reality television talent hunt cricket star endorsed by the
BCCI. We were very active, through Emerging Media, in trying to promote 2020 in India, through our reality formats,
and a ‘champions league 2020 tournament’, which we held at Leicestershire in 2006. I got to know Lalit Modi in the

middle of 2005. He contacted me in late 2007 to tell me that he was now launching the IPL in 2008, and that we should
consider bidding for a team. I remember the first proper meeting at Lalit’s house in December 2007, when he talked
through the league over breakfast, before he had to dash off to Thailand. I had come to India to celebrate my 40th
birthday, but I spent most of the time working on a plan to bid for a franchise in January with my team in London
and Mumbai!

Going into the auction what was your strategy? Had you decided what team to pick or did the cap on the spending
limit determine it?
We had decided a number of things going into the first auction: - we had a strong view that the list of players were
not necessarily the best 83 2020 players in the world, and so we had sought clarification on whether there would be
subsequent auctions; - we had a clear view on who we would like to be captain; - we had a view on the shape of team
that we would like, and we had a plan a, and, b for each position. That said, it was an auction and therefore, there

were lots of interdependencies. Hence, the strategy has to be flexible. In terms of spending, we had budgets for our
target players, but sadly many of these got exceeded by other teams bids!

The selection of Shane Warne: had you chatted with him before?
Yes, we spent some time chatting when he was in Europe a month before the auction. His enthusiasm for the IPL
was immense, and he seemed to have a real desire to lead and captain a team. I had also spent time chatting with

Rod Bransgrove about the impact that Shane had had on Hampshire.

Would you say that the Royals were the most inexperienced team going into season 1, and also the least fancied?
I would say that in some respects we were the most experienced, not inexperienced. We had been heavily involved
with a leading 2020 team in the UK (Leicestershire), we had a very experienced captain, and we had an experienced
management team that had worked together for a while. We also had some very experienced players – Graeme
Smith, Mohammed Kaif, Younis Khan, Munaf Patel – to mantion a few. The inexperience that the press focused on

was based on the fact that we backed a lot of young players, but it was the blend that worked well for us. T here is no point second guessing,

Tell us about what we didn’t see. About Shane Warne’s impact, how he motivated this band of youngsters into or worrying about decisions that Shane
steam rolling champions? Warne makes. He will always do what
Shane Warne is an inspirational leader of men. You only have to spend five minutes with him to be drawn in by his

charisma. He has a deep understanding of the game, a real sense of fun, and absolutely no sense of hierarchy. This he thinks is best for team to win from a
was a new and inspiring combination for many of our young Indian players. This was evident at the pre-season given situation.
camp, and throughout the tournament, when he would treat everyone equally.
MANOJ BADALE, CO-OWNER, RAJASTHAN ROYALS
When did you start thinking that you had a real shot at lifting the trophy? “
Just before the last ball in the final!

RAJASTHAN ROYALS 191
190 RAJASTHAN ROYALS Kavita & Suresh Chellaram with Manoj badale