(also on Cricinfo's Inbox blog)
Dear Dr Mallya,
It has been mentioned with continuing frequency on news channels over the past few weeks that you are looking at appointing a new captain for your Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Bangalore Royal Challengers, due to the underwhelming results achieved last season under Rahul Dravid. However in my opinion he should remain as captain, and thus I would like to present to you the case for retaining Rahul Dravid as captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Firstly, in the first season of the IPL only one Bangalore batsman scored over 300 runs. That batsman was Rahul Dravid. Thus it can certainly be seen that he led from the front, and with a strike rate of over 120 he cannot be criticised for slow scoring, given that he scored faster than batsmen such as Graeme Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Hussey, Shikhar Dhawan, Herschelle Gibbs and Irfan Pathan.
Secondly, Dravid was criticised for the recruitment policies adopted by your franchise. In actuality, Martin Crowe in his role as cricket operations officer was responsible for the recruitment of players. However, even players who were suited to the Twenty20 format such as Cameron White, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis (at least with the ball) underperformed, while the same can be said for Misbah ul-Haq who you personally recruited. On the other hand, someone like Wasim Jaffer who cost only US$100000 scored a 40 and 50 but was widely criticised despite being injured for the majority of the season. Ultimately if the players don't perform there is little the captain can do.
Indeed, despite all the doom and gloom Bangalore still won 4 games, including one against eventual finalists the Chennai Super Kings, and suffered close losses against Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 runs, Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs and Chennai Super Kings by 13 runs. They finished comfortably ahead of Deccan, who were supposedly far superior to Bangalore's 'Test team'.
Kevin Pietersen has been touted as a possible captaincy candidate. However, it should be remembered that England players will only be available for the first 3 weeks, meaning that Pietersen is unavailable for the whole tournament. Pietersen would certainly not be setting a good example as captain by leaving halfway through.
It should also be remembered that Kevin Pietersen's only allegiance to Bangalore is money. His services are loyal only to the highest bidder. This attitude is in stark contrast to Dravid, who is a Bangalore boy through and through and without whom the idea of city-based franchises, and indeed the idea of the IPL, would never have been possible. Dumping Dravid as captain may alienate many Bangalore supporters whose allegiance to their team was due to their local boy captaining the side, which could result in lower ticket sales and thus lower profits, which in this recession-hit world is certainly something to be avoided if possible.
However, the biggest reason not to install Pietersen as captain would be his ego which, as proved by the Peter Moores saga, is incompatible with figures of authority. His stint as England captain has raised serious concerns about his ability to deal with people, and with new coach Ray Jennings also being a strong personality, it is difficult to see how the two can work together, despite Jennings' statements. Indeed, Jennings' belief that the Moores saga will motivate Pietersen even more as a captain is indicative of the fact that Pietersen is motivated by himself and his ego only. In contrast, Dravid comes across as a gentleman who always puts the team ahead of his own needs, which is an important attribute for a captain to have.
Thus, I believe that you should retain Rahul Dravid as Bangalore Royal Challengers captain for the second season of the IPL. I hope you remember that what Rahul Dravid has done for Bangalore is far more than Kevin Pietersen or even you will ever do, because if you alienate the people of Bangalore you may find that the damage will be irreparable. I trust you will make the right decision.
Yours sincerely,
Avi Singh
