IPL Auctions: Mallya’s Mistake or Mindset- KP for Captain?

Sreelata YellamrazuFeb 6 2009

Vijay Mallya’s luxurious life cannot be questioned. But his comments can. His latest salvo at one in his own team left many a jaw dropped.

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Mallya was sitting along IPL Commissioner at one of the mini press conferencing at another round of the IPL auctions when he was questioned about his reaction to having Kevin Pietersen in his Royal Challengers Bangalore team. He expressed that he was happy to have netted Pietersen for the price he wanted, and that he was even willing to go higher in order to get Pietersen into the team, which is not surprising given the flamboyant liquor baron’s penchant for going after what he wants.

But then Mallya made a couple of comments that raised eye brows. While Mallya was right in wanting his big catch to be available for all six weeks, which is something Lalit Modi would have to work on extensively with the ICC, he gave a rather curious reason for going after Pietersen. He stated that Pietersen would bolster the batting after trading Zaheer Khan for Robin Uthappa. If one had a moment to catch his breath, he would have managed to ask Mr. Mallya how adding one batsman to another was going to compensate for losing India’s premier fast bowler.

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But it was his other comment that caused the flutters. Some one will have cautioned Rahul Dravid, the current captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore but perhaps not for long. Mallya was so ecstatic about getting Pietersen into the team that he almost let the cat (his thoughts) out of the bag. Apparently Pietersen’s recent tussles with the ECB over the coach Peter Moores had no effect on Mallya even though it cost Pietersen his captaincy of the England team.

Mallya stated, ‘The captaincy option is open. The team management will take a decision on him.” Flamboyance may have attracted the duo to each other but one wonders, when the England players are not available for more than three weeks at best, how the team that struggled with a full time captain will cope with a remote control one should Pietersen take over from Dravid in an impulsive moment from the liquor baron?

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