Bangalore Royal Challengers

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Team Owner: Vijay Mallya

2008 Record: Seventh

Coach: Ray Jennings

Squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Jacques Kallis (vice-captain), Rahul Dravid (ICON), Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Ross Taylor, Wasim Jaffer, Gaurav Dhiman, Robin Uthappa, Mark Boucher (wicket-keeper), Shreevats Goswami, Dillon du Preez, Jesse Ryder, Cameron White, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Balachandra Akhil, Ranganath Vijay Kumar, Dale Steyn, Nathan Bracken, Abdur Razzak, Pankaj Singh, Anil Kumble.

Analysis: Last year Mallya’s complaint was pretty much that he had been fooled into buying a ‘test’ team in T20 flannels. On that pretext he fired Charu Sharma, climbed all over Rahul Dravid and now started this year by replacing Kiwi great Martin Crowe with Ray Jennings (former South African coach). Seems he has assumed full control of the proceedings there and now will do pretty much what he wants and rebuilt the side in the transfer season and the auctions.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that what he does is right. And that’s where his purchase of Kevin Pietersen comes out to be a big mistake. He had the chance to right a few wrongs of last year with the two million dollars available to him and he spent most of it on one player, who will be available for just three weeks. On top of it, he is in the running to be captain as well. How Mallya expects Pietersen to turn the tide all by himself in 21 days is unfathomable?

The better thing to do would have been to buy two-three players – in the Jesse Ryder mould – who are there for the entirety of the tournament and would also bring about the much needed balance he wants in the side. But one thinks, that is not something Mallya is ready to listen to and has thus missed the trick yet again. If Dravid is anywhere as intelligent as he is made out to be, he would do better to stay away from captaincy in Pietersen’s absence. Because one expects much of last year’s disaster to repeat itself!

Tags: Bangalore Royal Challengers, IPL, Jacques Kallis, kevin pietersen, Rahul Dravid, Vijay Mallya