In the end, it was a good show. The auction for the signing of new players for the second season of the Indian Premier League took just over 2 hours to complete. Though not as long as the monstrously long first auction, the auction had its moments.
That Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and the Aussie-slayer JP Duminy would be the 'hot' buys was always expected. (Pietersen and Flintoff bagged US$ 1.55 million, while Duminy went for just under a million dollars). The unexepected was the US $ 650,000 for the relatively unheard of Tyron Henderson (South Africa). Tyron was a consistent performer in the twenty 20 cup in England, but splurging more than half a million for a 34 year old player seems to defy logic. The story of the auction,however was how a young man from Bangladesh, with a base price of $50,000, is laughing his way to the bank with an cheque 12 times that amount! There is no other way to explain Mahrafe Mortaza's jackpot other than the fact that he is extremely marketable for the Kolkata franchise - whose ambition is to build a fan base in the neighbouring country.
THE MISTAKE!
But in the middle of all this money changing hands, one story has gone almost unnoticed. It is that of the struggling, wooden spoon franchise of the inaugrual IPL, the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and its new CEO, Englishman Tim Wright. The Chargers had the most explosive line-up in the first edition of the IPL, after buying big hitters with bigger reputations (Adam Gillchrist, Andrew Symons, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi etc). With so many superstars in the team, the team was billed to be the favourite to win the top prize. However, the team ended up as the flop of the first season, winning just 2 out of 14 games and losing all 7 home games!
In a hasty reaction, the owners of the team appointed a new CEO, Tim Wright barely a week after the completion of the first season. Wright was the senior vice president of the sport marketing company IMG, with over 17 years of experience. He was brought to turn around the fortunes of a superstar team. The appointment seemed great at first with Wright singing all the right tunes, and professionally handling the various crises that happened in the team including sacking of the captian, VVS Laxman.
But on 6th Feb, when he was supposed to be at the ball room of a resort in Goa, India, for the auction, Wright went missing. News started filtering around that the CEO of the struggling franchise had left the country, and was no longer with it. Later on it became clear that he had committed serious violations of Foreigners Registration Act (FRA) and was avoiding the country fearing police interrogation. It also became clear that these offences were committed a long time ago and he was fully aware of the proceedings against him. Now, it might be too early to judge the impact Wright had on the franchise, but abdicating his responsibility when the franchise needed him the most just as the new season is building up, doesn't give a good testimony about the man. If Tim was aware of the proceedings, and innocent, why didn't he clear his name first, knowing his importance at this stage to the team? If guilty, why did he take up the assignment, knowing that he would be prosecuted sooner or later?
Overall, its a good reminder for the teams, not to take hasty decisions. When people are appointed to positions of responsibility, it shouldn't be based on their professional expertise alone. Their characters should also be examined. This is something that is overlooked today, in the competitive world. If for all positions of authority; alongwith expertise and experience, moral character is considered, the world - not just sports - would be better off.
That Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and the Aussie-slayer JP Duminy would be the 'hot' buys was always expected. (Pietersen and Flintoff bagged US$ 1.55 million, while Duminy went for just under a million dollars). The unexepected was the US $ 650,000 for the relatively unheard of Tyron Henderson (South Africa). Tyron was a consistent performer in the twenty 20 cup in England, but splurging more than half a million for a 34 year old player seems to defy logic. The story of the auction,however was how a young man from Bangladesh, with a base price of $50,000, is laughing his way to the bank with an cheque 12 times that amount! There is no other way to explain Mahrafe Mortaza's jackpot other than the fact that he is extremely marketable for the Kolkata franchise - whose ambition is to build a fan base in the neighbouring country.
THE MISTAKE!
But in the middle of all this money changing hands, one story has gone almost unnoticed. It is that of the struggling, wooden spoon franchise of the inaugrual IPL, the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and its new CEO, Englishman Tim Wright. The Chargers had the most explosive line-up in the first edition of the IPL, after buying big hitters with bigger reputations (Adam Gillchrist, Andrew Symons, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi etc). With so many superstars in the team, the team was billed to be the favourite to win the top prize. However, the team ended up as the flop of the first season, winning just 2 out of 14 games and losing all 7 home games!
In a hasty reaction, the owners of the team appointed a new CEO, Tim Wright barely a week after the completion of the first season. Wright was the senior vice president of the sport marketing company IMG, with over 17 years of experience. He was brought to turn around the fortunes of a superstar team. The appointment seemed great at first with Wright singing all the right tunes, and professionally handling the various crises that happened in the team including sacking of the captian, VVS Laxman.
But on 6th Feb, when he was supposed to be at the ball room of a resort in Goa, India, for the auction, Wright went missing. News started filtering around that the CEO of the struggling franchise had left the country, and was no longer with it. Later on it became clear that he had committed serious violations of Foreigners Registration Act (FRA) and was avoiding the country fearing police interrogation. It also became clear that these offences were committed a long time ago and he was fully aware of the proceedings against him. Now, it might be too early to judge the impact Wright had on the franchise, but abdicating his responsibility when the franchise needed him the most just as the new season is building up, doesn't give a good testimony about the man. If Tim was aware of the proceedings, and innocent, why didn't he clear his name first, knowing his importance at this stage to the team? If guilty, why did he take up the assignment, knowing that he would be prosecuted sooner or later?
Overall, its a good reminder for the teams, not to take hasty decisions. When people are appointed to positions of responsibility, it shouldn't be based on their professional expertise alone. Their characters should also be examined. This is something that is overlooked today, in the competitive world. If for all positions of authority; alongwith expertise and experience, moral character is considered, the world - not just sports - would be better off.
No comments:
Post a Comment