Kings XI Punjab
In IPL, the franchise owners expect their team to perform well at any cost. The possessors of the franchise have a least knowledge of the game of cricket. They are mainly business tycoons or celebrities. They have bought these franchises for earning handsome income through the IPL. And, they do get irritated and annoyed when their club displays incompetency. So, the administration is under tremendous amount of pressure to get the unit together and make them perform well. In case of underperformance the management is expected to find the imperceptible loopholes in the unit and generate a solution with the available resources. On many occasions this is not the case!
On previous occasions as well we have seen Vijay Mallya, the Banglore team owner, sack CEO of his team Charu Sharma due to the team not living up-to his expectations. This was an immediate decision taken by Mr. Mallya in the first IPL. And, we have also seen the previous Punjab CEO Mr. Neil to quit. Now, Anil the present CEO of Punjab too deserted.
Anil however told that his leaving has nothing to do with the expulsion of his team from IPL. He also conveyed regret over BCCI’s decision to expel his franchise from the next IPL. He said “I expect that it doesn’t turns to be a case of killing the goose that laid the golden egg [the IPL]. I hope there is wisdom behind the decisions; professional wisdom rather than personal agendas.”
He felt that IPL still is not ready for professionals yet. “If you look at it as a business where you let your management do your job then a lot would change!” He told that he is leaving because albeit he was the chief executive his position was rather redundant due to micro-management.
But, at the same time he also expressed IPL as being a wonderful experience. He said that he enjoyed the challenge of building the team’s brand and generate fan following. “IPL as a place was amazing. It was a learning that no other place could teach you.”
The King’s Eleven Punjab representative staff declined to comment for this story. Their website too still lists Srivatsa as the chief executive. During his term, Punjab fared very poorly. They finished last in the 2010 IPL. They were also chased by allegations that Yuvraj Singh was consciously underperforming due to his step-down from captaincy.
From the suspension of the IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi it seems some evil has struck the IPL! Following it the previous week two teams Punjab and Rajasthan were ejected by the BCCI. The charge posed on them was breaching shareholding and ownership norms. Now, the Punjab CEO Mr. Anil Srivatsa has quit. We can expect more drama in near future I feel!
Tags: Anil Srivatsa, CEO, Cricket, Indian Premier League, IPL, Kings XI Punjab, KXIP, Neil Maxwell
