Manoj Badale - A New Innings

The production of this book has been a multiyear project, starting in 2012. Originally, the book was intended to be a summary of the extraordinary journey of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from winning (against all predictions) in Season 1, having our champions league debut thwarted by the Mumbai terrorist attacks, and then taking over South Africa in Season 2, as the tournament moved with four weeks notice. That version was called You couldnt script it! The next version was focused on getting the facts written about the complexities of the Business of Cricket in India, as we found ourselves at the centre of a series of national controversies from termination, to player spot fixing and then a two year suspension. That version was called Fast, and at times, unplayable! The next version tried to distil the lessons that the IPL, one of the most successful sporting league launches in history, has for the business of sport. This focused on the importance that all sport must seek constant reinvention to grow and survive a challenge for a game like cricket which is an iconic symbol of tradition. That version was called Infinite Boundaries.
And then just as we were about to publish in March 2020 (yes, that had to be the year given the sport), the game has been hit by its most existential crisis the cancellation of all forms of play, for an indefinite period of time, due to the coronavirus. Publishing against the backdrop of such a global catastrophe felt futile, but as we reflect on the new normal every individual, every business, and every government is facing a once in a generation reset. Sport is no exception. So, our hope now is that through the lens of the Royals journey, the lessons from the reinvention of one of the worlds oldest sports will perhaps inform the requirements for that reset or, as they now say, the new normal.
Our fundamental assertion for cricket is that many of the business lessons from the launch of the IPL define a set of strategic imperatives for the game as a whole, that have simply become more urgent. Coronavirus has changed vi the world irreversibly in many ways, but the importance of sport remains. However, the competition between sports will now be more intense than ever before, given the pressure on the consumer as we enter a period of economic recession. The need for crickets next reinvention has simply accelerated. Cricket must now collaborate (like it has not done before). Cricket must make tough choices. Cricket must build from the many lessons (good and bad) of the IPL, if it is to survive and grow. It might seem strange to discuss survival after an extraordinary year for the game with one of most exciting IPL finals, a dramatic World Cup final, and an incredible Ashes Test match series. However, after perhaps its greatest year, cricket must now face a New Innings.

An Innings is the period in a game of cricket in which a team or player bats (=tries to hit the ball and score)

The people I must thank are many, so please bear with me. First are my family, who have endured a promise of the book for multiple years. Thanks to Team Badale for riding the Rajasthan Royal rollercoaster for 12 years Katie Yirrell, my strong and extremely patient wife who has consistently facilitated and supported our family through our thirty two year partnership; Hari, Asha and Ravi; my mother Madhuri and my late father Madan for all tolerating the highs (of which there were many) and the lows (of which there were as many). The patience you have shown, and the support that you have given is greatly appreciated.
Secondly, I must thank Charles Mindenhall, my business partner of the past 22 years. He has patiently reviewed multiple versions, advised on approach, and as with our 40 business ventures together, he has been eternally optimistic and supportive.
I must also acknowledge the team that have built the Rajasthan Royals, through whose lens the book is written. The playing heroes are well known. The franchise has been led by great players, such as Shane Warne, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and most recently, Steve Smith. They have each helped to define our culture and our style of play, and to inspire our fans. Zubin Bharucha has been our constant cricket brain. He is slowly, but surely, reinventing the way we play the game. He has been supported by incredible coaches Darren Berry, Jeremy Snape, Paddy Upton, Amol Mazumdar, Sairaj Bahutule and now Andrew McDonald.
However, less acknowledged are the off-field heroes led by Ranjit Barthakur, our India based chairman and friend for the last 25 years. He has been there from day one, calmly navigating every crisis, helping seize every opportunity, and providing a strong backbone. As he is now allowed to take up the role he was promised (that of a part-time not full-time chairman!) he can focus on his environmental and social work. We have had many great professional leaders Raghu Iyer (our CEO for many years), Santanu Chari viii (our COO for many years), Rohit Katyal, Saurabh Arora and the current team led by, Jake Lush McCrum, the ever present Harvinder Sahni, Girish Manik, Romi Bhinder, Rajeev Khanna, Rohit Sareen, Astha Thapliyal, Amit Gupta, Sangeeta Menezes and Sonali Bhatia amongst the many devoted and hard-working members of the RR commercial and operations teams. Our legal team has sometimes outnumbered our cricket team, led by Harish Salve and Rohan Shah, with support from the late Mr Ashok Desai, Mr Janal Dwarkadas, Dr. Milind Saathe, Mr Darius Khambatta, Anish Dayal and Deep Roy, have protected the franchise on several occasions.
I must thank our co-investors Suresh and Amisha Chellaram, Lachlan Murdoch (and Paul Wilson) for their trust, support and co-investment. We all learnt a lot together, and also had some fun on the way. We should acknowledge Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty who created visibility, and provided some Bollywood to the franchise. Our London RR team of Manoj Bithal, Steve Quinn, Tom Scowsill, Sam Clark and Ann Dearden must also be mentioned. Without these people, there would have been no franchise, no learning, no story and no fun.
A mention to the people who willingly gave up their time to be interviewed for this book, especially Lalit Modi, N Srinivasan, Rahul Dravid, Steve Smith, Paddy Upton, NP Singh, Sanjay Gupta, Raghu Iyer, Catherine Simpson, Rahul Johri, Hemang Amin, Zubin Bharucha, John Gloster, Rajesh Aravamudhan, Cathy Craig, Alex Marshall and Shane Warne. Andrew Wildblood and Peter Griffiths, two of the original architects of the IPL, were helpful on both facts, reviews and insights.
We must thank our outstanding Indian Advisory Board of S. Ramadorai, Vijay Singh, Piyush Pandey, Ravneet Singh Gill, Ravneet Pawha and Rohan Shah. I would also like to think the late Shri Arun Jaitley, who became a great friend and counsellor over many years. He is a huge loss to the government of India.
I have to thank the original co-investors in Investors in Cricket, led by Peter Wheeler, Paris Moayedi, Rick Haythornthwaite and Glenn Earle. And thanks to friends, Jim Murgatroyd, Ed Wray, Mark Davies, David Grant, Mark Onyett and Phil Jansen for starting the trend for the annual May Bank Holiday visit from the UK!