Page 203 - IPL 2

“
How did Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra come on board? What did they bring to the table in terms of skill, other than “

You think the Royals managed to show the world that in the ‘big money’ IPL it wasn’t just the top dollar that would
win games? What was the team’s reaction when you got the news that Man of the Tournament Shane Watson would not be
I think we showed that the strongest team will always win through a tough tournament like the IPL. Deccan Chargers available for season 2?
also seemed to have a wonderful team ethic in season two. Money and big names will always matter, but over 14 Naturally, we were hugely disappointed, but can’t spend too much time worrying about things that you can’t control.
games, team consistency is the key. The other reality that we have to acknowledge is that you do need a bit of luck Also, we cant look to these events as excuses. Every team faces challenges in a tournament like the IPL – and it is

in 2020, as there will be many close games. about how you deal with them.

You also lost 2 key players from the team, Pakistanis Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir?
the obvious glamour and attention? Yes – two great players.
Shilpa and Raj were introduced by our (then) vice-chairman, Ravi Krishnan. Raj and I then spent three meetings
together and seemed to have a very aligned view of the world. They have brought us a tremendous amount in terms When did you realize that Season 2 wouldn’t be ending up even half as good as season 1?
of profile, commercial acumen, ideas for merchandising – and Raj has also contributed as an active board member. When we lost the KKR game in Durban – we were only two balls from the semi-finals!

How was the run up to season 2? Were the youngsters in the team feeling the pressure of being defending champions? Did the team sit down and do a post mortem post Season 2, what do you think went wrong?
Our run up was not ideal. First, there was the sudden switch to South Africa (but that was the same for everyone). We conducted two major debriefs – one in South Africa, and one in London. There are lots of things that we could
Then there was the loss of key players – Tanvir, Akmal and Watson. And lastly, Graeme Smith was unable to join the have improved, but much of that is private for the cricket management team.
team until the morning of the first match. Naturally, expectations of some of our players was different, but that

shouldn’t be an excuse. How much would you attribute finishing outside the top 4 to the South African conditions, which were alien to most
members of your team?
No decisive comment was made about Kaif being sent back home, despite him being the most expensive player and You can’t use conditions as an excuse – they are the same for all teams.
an integral part of the team’s success in season 1!
It was a decision to pick the 19 players who performed best in the pre-season camp. We had a large squad in South You had the most interesting in stadia merchandise. Who came up with the turban idea?
Africa, and we had to reduce numbers. It was not a decision that Warne and the coaching team took lightly. I think it was our marketing team, led by Utkarsh Singh and Raghu Iyer. We had looked at the success of the ‘hard
hat’ in domestic South African 2020 games – and figured that the South Africans like to wear things at games!

Season 2 didn’t start on a very good note for you?
I have had better days! Tell us about the lead up to season 3. What do Royals fans have to look forward to?
Hopefully, we will unveil some new players – we are very excited by some of our young talent. Our fans can expect
Tell us about what was going on in the Royals box in that historic Super Over game against KKR? the same attacking spirit, and our usual total commitment. We will also shortly be announcing some very exciting
international plans.

Did you think that Warne had made a mistake by tossing the ball to Kamran rather than take it himself? One player in an opposing team that the royals would’ve loved to have?
There is no point second guessing, or worrying about decisions that Shane Warne makes. He will always do what he There are lots of players that we would be privileged to have.
thinks is best for team to win from a given situation.
How was the IPL in SouthAfrica?
But you didn’t experiment with the batting, sending best man Yusuf Pathan to finish the job? It was an extraordinary experience – and much of the magic of the first tournament. The organizers did an amazing “
After KKR had batted well, I guess we needed a few sixes, and there are few better than Yusuf to hit them! job in a short period of time, and it was a privilege to be there.

192 RAJASTHAN ROYALS

It was obviously tense, and I think Suresh and I actually held hands – but it was ok, as it was quite dark!! “