Inaugural season champions Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale thinks that it could be a blessing if new teams come in. Speaking to IANS about the issues his team has faced, the constant change of support staff and how the Royals have changed, Badale said that while eight teams make IPL a happy family, adding a couple of new members to the family will help to promote the league as well as the game.
“We believe that eight is a good number of teams for the IPL given the length of the window and the logistics for all franchises and star. Adding a new franchise will, however, enable a new stadium to be played in, new fans to be deeply engaged in this amazing sport and more matches for our avid supporters, which are all certainly beneficial to the game,” he explained.
“We played the first and only ever international friendly in Lords in 2009 against Middlesex and would certainly be supportive of playing some friendly matches abroad each year. The support for the IPL in every cricket playing country around the world is huge, so we’d love to be able to give these fans the opportunity to watch their heroes up close and create incredible atmospheres in these fantastic stadiums,” he added.
“With regards to the Power Player, it’s certainly an interesting innovation, but I’d have to get more details of how it would work before I could comment,” he said. “It’s no different to any business, where you have to back the professionals that manage the organization. We have a quality coaching staff and captain that have the capacity to manage this team to success.”
“It is the job of the coach and captain to motivate the team when the going gets tough. I will always be there for a casual conversation with the players after matches. My role is to ensure the culture and values that underpin our franchise are reflected in everything we do, and to help recruit the best leaders within the franchise,” he shared.
He was asked if it’s frustrating to see them failing to do well despite having the quality players.
Read here: South Africa Captain Faf du Plessis Looks for Fresh Start
“There have been frustrating times, but that is often part of building a business. I believe we as a franchise can achieve consistent success in the IPL and we’ve invested significantly to grow the brand and the IPL globally. There have obviously been challenges along the way, however, we are now in a fantastic position with a quality coach, captain and a young squad that can compete for many years,” he told.
“The IPL is incredible competition to be a part of and something completely unique in this world. We have the most amazing fans and whatever the result, their continued support always inspires me and motivates me to give them the success they so duly deserve,” he pointed.
Rajasthan Royal are considered as the greatest underdog since the beginning of the league. However, Manoj Badale has backed his boys.
“These are all incredible players that any owner would love to have in their side. I have to commend the opposition franchises in securing these talented cricketers, however, I do feel that franchisees need to be built on more than star players. Franchises need to be bigger than any single player. We have built a team we believe can compete for the title this year and are excited for the challenge of playing against these highly skilled individuals,” he smiled.
“We believe we now have the right combination of captain and coach for success. We ran an extremely robust process through the summer to select Andrew McDonald and are very happy with the appointment, while in Smith we have the captain with one of the best win records in the IPL,” he explained.
“We have continually been learning about the best structure for a coaching team and qualities for a head coach, both internally and from teams around the world. We see the Head Coach role growing in importance in the future and believe McDonald is the man we can develop to be one of the best in the world,” he signed off.
