Techies react to Mallya's anti-Dravid outbursts

BANGALORE, INDIA: Bangalore Royal Challengers’ owner Vijay Mallya’s outbursts against captain Rahul Dravid and the former CEO of the team, Charu Sharma, has evoked mixed responses from the IT community.

Mallya recently said he had no role in selecting the RC team, currently at the bottom of the nine-team Indian Premier League table with four points from eight matches.

While lashing out at Dravid and Sharma, he made clear that IPL has a corporate face.

Mallya had pumped in $111.6 million for the team – currently ridiculed as a Test team in Twenty20 jersey -- during the auction.

The flamboyant Mallya, who ranked 664 on Forbes’ list of World Billionaires in 2007, added glamour to the team’s outings by importing Washington Redskins cheerleaders to India.

Aparajit Aradya, an employee with Symphony in Bangalore, has boycotted the IPL citing its “money-making gimmicks.” He however, is of the view that Mallya has the right to run the team like a business unit since he has invested in it.

“Players have to perform and he has the right to demand. However, he can’t blame others when he could not make a right choice,” Aradya said.

Ramya Nath, a software engineer with Infosys echoed similar sentiments. She felt that Dravid is a poor captain and hence should quit.

“Mallya is the owner of the RC team and he has all the right to behave this way, and it is a business. Technically speaking the players are employee of the RC entity and Mallya has all the right to question their performance,” she said.

Swati, a BPO employee in a Chennai-based firm, went further. "There is nothing wrong with people making an issue when someone is not performing well. Don't we appreciate them when they do well?"

Hyderabad-based Najaraju Rachuri, assistant manager, Retail Strategy & Planning of Infotech Enterprises Ltd felt non-performance should be firmly dealt with.

“If there is an issue of non-performance, Vijay Mallya is justified in trying to get his investment back. Non-performance cannot be excused,” Rachuri said.

Preethi Shree, who is involved in the recruiting process of an MNC in Hyderabad, opined that Mallya should have stuck with the team, since he was involved in the selection process. She doesn’t doubt the RC players’ under-performance so far.

“We are not aware if he (Mallya) has any provision to fire players on account of non-performance like the corporate world. If yes, he is justified. Even then, these clauses should have been made public,” she added.

It is for getting mileage for his brands that Mallya had invested in IPL, said Manu Khanna, learning developer with IBM ISL India.

The downslide of RC has his brand value down. “Vijay Mallya is doing what any businessman would do. He’s trying to salvage whatever money he can out of this sinking ship. It should not be taken personally, it’s a business decision,” said Khanna in Hyderabad.

Outburst 'unreasonable'

Not everyone is backing Mallya. There are many who felt that a sports team should not be treated as a business unit. They also felt Mallya’s outbursts are unreasonable.

Sharath Gowder, a software engineer with Infosys in Bangalore, said that every team cannot perform. There will be losers as well as winners, and hence one cannot blame the RC.

“Sport is different and getting an employee work is different. Mallya should learn to be a sportsman than a businessman when it comes to IPL. He has bought players does not mean he owns them. Even Mumbai Indians were performing badly initially, but Ambani did not demoralize the team,” he said.

Mukesh Ambani owns the Mumbai Indians, which has eight points from as many outings.

Balaji, a project manager with a reputed IT firm in Chennai said, "It’s a shame that after just 5-6 matches Charu Sharma was and other people are questioning the credibility of Rahul Dravid."

True. Dravid, the Wall, has been the savior of the Indian team and the national pride at many occasions.

IPL was apparently floated to defeat the Subhash Chandra-promoted Indian Cricket League. But it is quite interesting to see how IPL has made Indian cricketing stars, adorned like demigods in a land where cricket is almost on par with religion, answerable to corporate leaders and film stars.