Anand Krishna’s musings

Nearly three decades ago, my grandfather told me a little story. There was this man, who had a pet dog. One day, in a fit of rage, the man picked up a stick and beat the dog. The poor dog dumped right there inside the house. The man had to clean up after the dog. A neighbour, who supposedly watched the entire episode, asked wryly “why beat the dog and why carry the “done”?” In essence, why do something whose outcome will only cause more misery or nuisance- and you have to end up doing something painful or distatsteful to remedy the situation?

I was reminded of this story when I read recently that Vijay Mallya has declared that he has tremendous faith in his team and that he wishes he would get the privilege of sorting things out in the privacy of the dressing room or team meetings. After all, it was Mr Mallya who first spoke to the media about his dissatisfaction with Dravid’s team selection and so on. Dravid, ever the gentleman, simply accepted his franchise owner’s outburst s justified, given the team’s lacklustre performance in the IPL thus far.

Just as Shane Warne alone has not wrought wonders for the Jaipur franchise, the Royal Challengers’ performance cannot be blamed on Dravid alone. In both cases, it is the team that either did or did not consistently deliver. One individual may play a key role on a particular day, but that’s usually it. Sanath’s brilliant century againts Chennai would have been in vain if the bowlers had not bowled well and the fielders had not held catches and effected run-outs. Today’s match, where Dravid scored an uncharecteristically aggressive 75 n.o. (6 sixes and 6 fours, 36 balls) is another example where Dravid has done quite well, but received no support from his team-mates.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if Mr Mallya also treats the managers in his employ in similar fashion, and what attrition rates at the UB Group are.