Vijay Mallya’s statements will only demoralize the Royal Challengers further

As owner of the IPL’s Royal Challengers franchiese, Vijay Mallya has every reason to be angry and disappointed; after all, his team has won only 2 of its last 9 matches. And at the time of writing this blog, it is well on the way to losing its 10th match. However, venting his spleen in public, as he has done is not likely to help his cause or indeed, his team’s cause.

Dravid, the captain, is already under severe pressure. His team has not performed to its potential. He himself has done quite well, considering that just some months ago, he declined to play the T20 World Cup in South Africa, saying the format was meant for younger legs. His foreign “mercenaries” – Kallis, Boucher, Steyn, Chanderpaul, Cameron White, Misbah ul Haq et al have not performed as well as Dravid, or indeed, most of us cricket fans living in Bangalore, might have expected. This is in stark contrast to say Shaun Marsh or Shane Watson, who have delivered.

Mr Mallya should have kept his frustration under wraps for some more time, and even better, chosen to expose it in the dressing room or behind closed doors. And though he has today said that he has asked Dravid to focus on the game and forget the unseemly controversy around which players to have picked, the damage has been done. In case you are wondering what I am talking about- Mr Mallya reportedly said yesterday that he had given Dravid and Charu Sharma a free hand, but that the team that was finaly put together was more suitable for test cricket than it was for T20.

Looking ahead, Mr Mallya’s unfortunate comments might well have the following impact:

1. Dravid’s international cricket career may come to a premature end.
2. Dravid may choose to resign as captain of the Royal Challengers. If that happens, who takes over? Boucher? Kallis? Kumble? Zaheer?
3. The franchise will lose its sheen for next season, as few players will be willing to countenance a franchise owner who shoots his mouth off to the media.
4. Foreign players may have second thoughts about signing up for the franchise.
5. Other teams may start worrying about what their franchise owners may or may not say and do.

All in all, a distresing time for the Royal Challengers. And given the bad news for Team Force India on the Formula One circuit, little wonder that Vijay Mallya is fulminating.