'I knew the balance of the team was good to win the trophy' - Vijay Mallya on RCB's success

INTERVIEW

'I knew the balance of the team was good to win the trophy' - Vijay Mallya on RCB's success

by Vijay Tagore • Last updated on

Vijay Mallya was the owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru at one point. © BCCI

Vijay Mallya, the founder of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2008, now based in the UK amid Indian authorities seeking his extradition, speaks to Cricbuzz about the team's historic victory, the celebrations that turned tragic, and his prospects of returning to India. Excerpts from the interview...

The victory celebrations ended in tragic deaths of fans...

It is very sad that those who came out to celebrate ultimately did not go home. It is heartbreaking that people who came for such a joyous occasion met with tragedy. I have extended my heartfelt condolences to all the affected families. I was amazed watching it on television - the number of people was just unimaginable. I'm not going to comment on why this sad incident happened because I don't know enough. It would be unfair for me to make any comment. But the fact that people lost their lives is a very, very sad thing, especially when the whole of Bangalore and all the fans were celebrating. I can't say much more.

You must have watched the final, right?

Of course, I watched the final. I have watched every single RCB game.

Your first thoughts?

You know, the way RCB has played this season has been extraordinary. Particularly, to win every single away game was quite an achievement, and I think it's an IPL record as well. Every time RCB played at Chinnaswamy, I was nervous because, you know, at Chinnaswamy, you either have extraordinary bowling that contains runs, or else you need to be prepared for very high-scoring games.

So, it was fine. I mean, the fact that they had such a fantastic away record - I knew that this time the balance of the team was good. Every player was stepping up, and as a unit, they were performing very well.

So, it was not a surprise that they got to the finals. Of course, there are so many other factors in a final game - such a big game - such as experience, such as, you know, mental strength and everything else. RCB showed that it had a good balance of young players as well as experienced players, and everybody, as I said, stepped up to the plate.

Punjab played brilliant cricket as well to reach where they did - into the final - but Punjab has a whole bunch of youngsters who did remarkably well for them, and I think in the final game, it was RCB's blend of experience and talent that saw them through.

So, post the victory, did you celebrate?

Of course. I had a whole bunch of friends who were with me, who all came to watch the game, and obviously, we all celebrated. I mean, when I founded this team, I bought the Bangalore franchise at the BCCI auction and named it Royal Challengers. You know, the dream was that the trophy should be in Bangalore. I didn't realize then that it would take 18 years for the trophy to arrive in Bangalore. Finally, it is in Bangalore.

You have briefly answered this question, but can you elaborate on your thoughts about the current RCB team?

You see, if you were to try and analyze the skills of each player, it is very, very clear that a lot of thought has gone into this. Having participated in so many IPL auctions, you know normally people also buy players impulsively. There are players with great reputations, and when their names come up, you are tempted. I even watched the auction, and I saw that RCB were not tempted to buy players who I think many people thought they would go for.

Instead, RCB were very tempered and measured in their approach, indicating that a lot of thought and advanced planning had gone into the balance of the squad. If you look at it on paper, there are some star performers. I mean, Virat Kohli is probably the best batsman in the world. But then, you know, to select somebody like Phil Salt to open the innings with him - I mean, at the end of the day, who would have imagined that before the auction?

I am sure you may have asked this question to other people before, but who would have imagined before the auction that RCB would bid for Krunal Pandya and RCB would bid for Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar)? But at the end of the day, all these decisions proved right, and this combination of, as I said, experience and young talent - like Jitesh Sharma, and Rajat Patidar is also a young talent - worked.

He (Rajat) isn't as if he is one of those that comes with a big reputation in international cricket, but the balance showed through. What is most satisfying is that every player stepped up to the plate. I heard an interview of Mr. Gavaskar - he said that during this IPL, RCB have received nine (different) Player of the Match awards, which means that, you know, everyone in that team is stepping up.

Any particular player you thought RCB should have had?

In my honest opinion, if I was sitting there at the auction table and making decisions, I probably would have gone for KL Rahul. And that is not just because he is a very fine player, but you know, he is a Bangalore boy.

You have mentioned Rajat Patidar. Any thoughts on him as a skipper?

I think Rajat has done an outstanding job. It's not easy to just sort of accept the captaincy when you have stalwarts like Virat Kohli around. But he did a splendid job. I saw him right through this campaign, and yeah, I believe his only earlier experience as a skipper was with the Madhya Pradesh state team. But you know, as the captain of an IPL squad, I think he performed remarkably well. I've seen him bat as well - he's a very fine batsman - but combined with his batting abilities, skills, and his captaincy, I think he did outstandingly well.

You were the first to appoint Virat Kohli as skipper before anyone thought about his future greatness. Anything you can say about the process in the decision-making?

I was the one who picked Virat Kohli. I was sitting there for the pick, and the minute it was my turn, I immediately chose Virat. Obviously, his performance with the India Under-19 team was an influencing factor. So, he was a natural choice to be the RCB captain.

What are your thoughts on the current RCB management? Any advice or suggestions?

No, no... it's absolutely fine. You have Mo Bobat, who has been involved with English cricket and is extremely well regarded. He's the Director of Cricket. Andy Flower is a well-accomplished coach. So yeah, I'd say the management and coaching team of RCB is top-class.

Did you expect the wait for the trophy to be so long? And why do you think it was so long?

At the end of the day, everything has to come together nicely. You have eleven players, and they all must gel, play as a unit, and function as a team. More importantly - as I mentioned earlier - the fact that RCB got nine Player of the Match awards this season shows that different members of the team, at various points, stood up, put their hand up, performed, and contributed to the team's success.

You know, even in my time, the management staff and coaches would often come up and say, "We need X player" or "Y player is the missing link." These were big names - sometimes fast bowlers, sometimes big hitters. But despite all that, the team never quite gelled as a cohesive, playing unit that could consistently deliver results. That's why we made the top four many times, but only managed to actually grab the trophy yesterday.

Have you sent or received any messages?

I received congratulatory messages from more people than I had expected - even from those who hadn't been in contact with me for many, many years. At the end of the day, when I founded RCB, what was the dream? I didn't start the franchise just to play cricket; obviously, it was to win the IPL. So, people have very sweetly, kindly, and generously sent me messages saying, 'Well, your dream has finally come true.' Yes, my dream has come true, and I'm very happy about it.

A big aspect about RCB is its maddening fanbase. What do you want to say about them?

Ever since I founded this franchise, we have focused heavily on fan engagement. It's not just for the two or two-and-a-half months of the IPL season and then silence for the rest of the year. RCB has maintained a comprehensive fan engagement plan throughout the entire year. So even when cricket isn't being played on the field, the fans feel connected to the franchise. This has been a conscious effort from day one. The results speak for themselves - that's why RCB has the highest number of Instagram followers and such a massive fanbase. We have consistently engaged with our fans year-round for many years.

A little digging into the past... When the Season 1 auction happened, the RCB team was called a Test side. Of course, it reached the final in Season 2. How was the journey from a Test side to a champion side?

If you look at the profile of the players when we started, it was more of a Test team, yes, and 18 years ago white-ball cricket had not progressed to the level it has today. White-ball cricket back then was somewhat in its infancy. Today, of course, white-ball cricket is played all across the world and has almost become a specialist format. That's why people keep comparing red-ball cricket with white-ball cricket.

When I bought the Bangalore franchise, they were very good cricketers. At that time, it was very difficult to pinpoint who would be a white-ball specialist and who would be a Test or red-ball specialist. It was evident from the inaugural game at Chinnaswamy Stadium - Brendon McCullum hit like nobody could imagine.

But look at how youngsters have developed over the years. Today, in this entire IPL, look at the number of 200-plus scores. Nobody could have imagined that in my time. What is even more gratifying is that these massive runs are being scored by young, uncapped players. That is brilliant - brilliant for the future, and brilliant for Indian cricket.

Virat Kohli has often kept talking about 2016. You had Virat, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Shane Watson...

Okay, if you looked at the team sheet, it was frightening. But at the end of the day, it all did not come together like it did yesterday.

Should RCB have a Hall of Fame like many franchises around the world? Who should be in it?

I think every franchise should consider having a Hall of Fame. As far as RCB is concerned, there have been players who have delivered exceptional results for this franchise. In my view, Virat, AB, and Gayle are automatic Hall of Famers.

How much do you miss managing RCB?

It's not really a question of missing the management of RCB. I always saw myself as the chief fan of RCB, okay? The bottom line is we always had a professional management team and professional coaching staff, appointed because they know a lot more about cricket than I do. My role was mainly giving inputs on the kind of players they wanted during the auction to fill certain gaps or voids in the team.

So when it came to players like Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh, or Mitchell Starc - last year Starc won the trophy for Kolkata. Look at Glenn Maxwell; you saw that double hundred against Afghanistan - that saved Australia. We've had big stalwarts in the past.

At the end of the day, all the players in RCB 2025 put their hands up. It was an incredible contribution of individual performances, and I think that's what brought the trophy to Bangalore.

You went after Yuvraj Singh for Rs 14 crores in 2014, released him the next year, and then rebid for him, going up to Rs 15.5 crores. How do you explain that?

I was in Durban when Yuvraj Singh hit those six sixes. I know his hitting capability very well. Clearly, when it comes to white-ball cricket, Yuvraj must have been at the top of every team's list. That explains the need to have someone like Yuvraj in the team.

As for releasing and rebuying, that's an auction strategy. One hopes that, okay, today I paid Rs 14 crores, and if I release him and bid for him again in the auction, I might get him for less money. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.

Mr. Mallya, is there any chance you will come back to India... and take back ownership of the team?

No.

Click here to read article