In this episode of 'Free Hit', a series of exclusive video interviews with players, officials and TV pundits from the Indian Premier League, Boria Majumdar chats with Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore
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00:00Was there any alarm among the franchises when you heard the CSK thing coming out?
00:04I mean, as the boss of KKR, were you alarmed? Were you apprehensive?
00:08Did your players ask questions? I mean, did anybody sort of freak out?
00:17Hello and welcome to this edition of Free Hit on Gulf News.
00:20And my guest today is someone who I think is going to be a very,
00:25very important pivot for this IPL because we've seen the news coming out in the early parts.
00:31And someone who understands the bio bubble and the sanctity of the bio bubble better than most
00:37has done lots of work on this aspect and has been constantly telling me in private conversations
00:43how important it is to secure the bubble for a safe and secure tournament.
00:47Welcome Venky Mysore to this show. Thank you very, very much for speaking to me.
00:52Thank you, Boria. Thanks for having me.
00:54When the news came out, my first thought was we've seen this in IPL. We've seen this in La Liga.
00:59We've seen this area. No panic, no alarm. But it tells you how important that bio bubble is.
01:05And I went back to the discussion you had with me when you said even the owners cannot break that bubble.
01:11That is sacrosanct. It is almost sacred. Thoughts on that?
01:15Having lived through this pandemic for now, what, at least six months, close to six months,
01:22I think if we step back for a second, even before we get into this sophisticated terminology like
01:28bio bubbles, I think at a simplistic level, we all should recognize the risk that's out there.
01:33And in the process, I think we've learned a lot over the last few months on how to protect
01:39ourselves. So in the context of what we know, if you look at staging a very high profile,
01:46perhaps one of the biggest extravaganzas, if you can, in terms of cricket,
01:53an IPL type of tournament, it's extremely important to understand how one has to function
01:59within the parameters of the risk. And that is where this whole concept of bio bubble has come
02:03into play, which means that what you're effectively doing is recognizing how this
02:09infection transmits itself. And in an environment where sports is being played,
02:14how do you protect yourself? So therefore, you're absolutely right. It is sacrosanct. And I think
02:20everybody has to be completely respectful of it and make sure that we don't underestimate under
02:26any circumstances. What's the message as the boss of KKR you've sent out to your team? I mean,
02:30they, in Dubai, in the bio bubble, in Abu Dhabi, you are in Abu Dhabi, your team is in Abu Dhabi
02:36at the rates. I mean, that's something that we'll talk about, but what is the messaging,
02:41the early message that has gone from the CEO to every stakeholder, player, support staff, media,
02:48social media team, everyone? What is the messaging that Venky Mysore has sent to the team?
02:52Two key messages that I give them. One is, do not compare this scenario with anything that you have
02:59experienced in the past. I said, this is a once in a century type of scenario that we are all
03:06going through. So don't say, this used to happen and that used to happen,
03:11and therefore, why am I not being allowed to do this and all that? I said, please, let's mentally
03:16prepare ourselves to say, you can't even look back at any other paradigm. This is a new paradigm
03:21that we're in. Number two is, I said, do not, under any circumstances, underestimate the risk.
03:27No matter what SOPs are written, what document comes to you, what the government announces,
03:33we all have to take responsibility, personal responsibility and accountability to ensure
03:39that we A, recognize that the risk that's out there and B, do everything that we know has to
03:45be done. Nothing is guaranteed in life and so anything can happen, who knows? But to the extent
03:51that you can mitigate that, here are all the steps that we should be undertaking and we have done
03:56that. So these are the two messages I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I don't mind it
04:01because this is the message that needs to go out to everybody and I'm very happy to say that everyone
04:07has taken it in the right spirit. It is tougher in Abu Dhabi as we can discuss a bit more than
04:12it is perhaps in Dubai and in other places. And so the fact remains that the team has been
04:20fantastic in terms of just accepting what we are going through and at the same time, completely
04:26complying in all respects. Tell me the challenges in Abu Dhabi, Venky, because a lot of your fans
04:32here, I mean, in India, even in the Gulf, want to know it. The first impression when the tournament
04:37was going to be shifted to UAE was that they said, there's no quarantining in UAE. UAE is
04:43completely open. And so we can all go there and as long as we comply with the testing protocol,
04:49which means that you have to have a COVID negative report before you take off from
04:53wherever you're going, then you land in the airport, then you're tested again. As long as
04:57that was the initial impression that everybody had. But slowly but surely, we started
05:02realizing that there's a lot more to it. And there are differentiations between Abu Dhabi and Dubai,
05:08for example. For example, Dubai does not have any mandatory quarantining requirement. So what
05:14people are supposed to do, we've all now heard that IPL teams that go there for the first six days,
05:19you have to be quarantined in your rooms, you have to have undergone three tests from the time
05:23you land. And only in the seventh day, you're allowed to come out and start practicing. That is
05:28an IPL protocol. Now, you look at Abu Dhabi protocol. Abu Dhabi, just before we landed or
05:36thereabouts, we landed on the 20th of August, and they announced that there's a 14-day quarantine,
05:42mandatory in Abu Dhabi. So anybody who goes in, like a tourist who goes into Abu Dhabi,
05:47has to quarantine for 14 days. Dramatic difference to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Fortunately,
05:52what has happened is that we have been able to talk to the health ministries there and all the
05:57medical professionals. And I think they have understood that the biosecure bubble that we
06:03have created is a very, very stringent one. So to that extent, they have said that, okay,
06:08after six days, so now at least there's a little bit of a level playing field in saying that Dubai
06:13and Abu Dhabi, you go through the six days, you go through the testing, seventh day, you can start
06:17practicing. So they're allowing you to operate within the biosecure bubble. Was there any alarm
06:23among the franchises when you heard the CSK thing coming out? I mean, as the boss of KKR, were you
06:29alarmed? Were you apprehensive? Did your players ask questions? I mean, did anybody sort of freak
06:33out? Because it's very possible. I mean, that was my second question, that in a quarantine set-up,
06:38bio bubble set-up, 80-odd days, what about mental health of the players or the staff?
06:43Have you given any conscious thought to that? I don't think there was necessarily an alarm
06:48because we've been going through this for six months. And frankly, all of us, each of us in
06:54our respective lives, we know people who are very close to us or friends or acquaintances who have
06:59already been through this. I think it was more a matter of, okay, now what? If this happens
07:05within the biosecure bubble environment and happens to another franchise, so what happens
07:13next? What are they going to do? I mean, now contact tracing, which means that, does it mean
07:18that you have everybody who has come in contact with these people will also have to be quarantined?
07:23So those are the questions that came up more than anything else. I don't think anybody was
07:27necessarily alarmed. I also think that we had worked very hard to prepare our whole team mentally
07:33on what to expect. I think a lot of it is about communication. And notwithstanding that, who
07:39wants to sit in a hotel room, although the view is great. We've got a very nice hotel with a very
07:44nice view and everything. And then we've tried to make it as comfortable for our team as possible.
07:50But nobody likes to sit in the room. So we have come up with some creative ways in which
07:54our team is very smart that way on how to keep… Can you give me a sense?
07:59Oh, we had a fantastic quiz show on Zoom. And it was so much fun, I tell you. I mean,
08:07there were some silly questions. There were some serious questions. There were some cricket
08:11questions. And there were some Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood questions. So it was a lot of fun.
08:17And then two days later, we did an amazing, I think, Antakshari type of an event for all of
08:26the people who were sitting in there. And I tell you, it was hilarious. I joined in, obviously.
08:32But I told them with a very straight face that, I'm glad your main profession is to play cricket
08:37and not singing. Because it was too hilarious to see.
08:43So who's the better singer and who won the quiz?
08:46Oh, I don't know about who's the better singer. But certainly, the quiz was… I think people
08:53were quite smart, I must tell you. I was quite pleasantly surprised on their extent of being
09:00aware of everything. I think from a singing standpoint, the most daring and adventurous
09:06singer there is Rinku Singh in our group. My God. I mean, he started not only singing everything,
09:13and then… But I think Shubman was a very good singer. Came up with a few things in there.
09:18And also, Rinku was with action. He was standing on his bed, no inhibitions. So it was too much fun.
09:26It was too much fun. And a lot of laughs. When you do that, I think it relaxes people.
09:31And of course, we've made all the arrangements with the television, Netflix, this, that, whatever they need.
09:36So that people are… They have enough of an outlet. But fortunately, three days ago, the quarantine ended.
09:42They've started practising. And they've gone three days in a row. So this is their biggest thing.
09:48I mean, being out there, you could see… I saw videos of it and how happy they were to just be
09:53out there on the ground. That was my next question. How happy were they? I mean, what was the first
09:59practice session and liberation? I think what happens as human beings,
10:05we know when we're deprived of something and then suddenly you get it, you realize how much you value
10:11it more and how much you… I think there were two types of emotions. One is just a sense of,
10:17wow, okay, finally we're out here. And the facilities were fantastic. And notwithstanding
10:23all the things that they had to do, wear a mask and maintain social distance and
10:27sanitize and everything else, still, just for them to hear the bat hitting the ball was, I think,
10:35music. I mean, this is what professionals do. It was also a sense of
10:40appreciation for what we're going through. And in the midst of all of these things, to be able to
10:45go out and do what they love doing, I think there was a great sense of gratitude, I would say.
10:52I generally sensed that. I'm delighted to hear that, that you've taken care of the mental side
10:56of things. Final two questions before I let you go. One, and this is a cricket question. I've
11:02watched every game of the CPL and I've watched everything to do with England. Tell me about
11:07Tom Banton and Sunil Narayanan. How much has your smile widened when Tom Banton played that reverse
11:14switch hit for six and those scoops for six. I mean, this boy can… I mean, I saw him in the
11:20Vitality Blast. He was brilliant. But Tom Banton and Sunil Narayanan. Well, you know, I mean,
11:25obviously, we are going through CPL right now and TKR, knock on wood, fingers crossed. We have played
11:316-1-6. So couldn't be happier with that. I think everyone, again, you sense the same thing.
11:37Whatever I told you just now, holds true there as well. That people, as much as the challenges
11:42of quarantining and everything, which was tough. How mentally they are prepared and how they are
11:46focused on it has been fantastic. To see Sunil bowling, batting. Andre Russell, our head coach
11:53is there. Brendan McCullum, he coaches TKR and he's going to coach KKR. So the conversations
11:58that are going on. Our analyst, Srikanth, is there. So it's been fantastic in that sense. Watching
12:03not only Tom Banton in that rain-affected game, but also watching Morgan play that knock.
12:12Just two days ago. I think it's a great sense of satisfaction and something that we are really
12:19looking forward to. Obviously, Banton is like an emerging star. And Morgan is just an unbelievable
12:27individual, a leader and a player. And all of these conversations had gone into our thinking
12:33when the auction happened. But the auction seems like it happened so long ago, back in December
12:382019. To see them following through on everything that we believe that they can come and do
12:44has been fantastic. So fingers crossed right now. All the planes have landed except
12:52the CPL plane and the England and Australia plane. So the CPL plane will land on, I think,
12:5811th of September. That's the plan. After the finals in CPL. In Abu Dhabi, I mean. And then
13:04England-Australia plane will land on the 17th, after their final ODI on 16th of September.
13:09So when all of that comes in, and they go through their quarantine, and all the tests come back
13:13negative… So I was jokingly telling someone, this emoji is something that is now a good sign.
13:20When test results are coming, when they say it like this, we are very happy. So I think we'll be
13:25very relieved when the whole squad congregates. And I think that'll happen, God willing, on 17th
13:31of September. And then it's off to the races, and be prepared. And we start our campaign. So
13:40really looking forward to that. Wouldn't be happier. You've been in charge for, now, more than a decade.
13:46And you transformed it for KKR. And I'm putting it on record. Tough calls. I mean, whether it's
13:51the sort of call, whether it's plenty other calls, making it a professional outfit. You've been a
13:56champion. And tell me, how important will this one be? I mean, this is not going to be another one
14:00next year. I mean, this pandemic is not going to be the same. There will be vaccines. There will be
14:04therapies. This is, as you said, once in a century, once in a generation, once in our lifetimes,
14:09hopefully. So if you win this one, it'll be a real special one. How important is this for you?
14:14Oh, well, you know, you have to say, winning is the ultimate goal every team starts with.
14:21But I think you start off the season, and this particular season, if there was a wish list,
14:28first thing you start saying is that the whole season should be uneventful. No incidences of
14:33any sort. And then we kind of go through it. It's all about cricket. No other fanfare around the
14:39tournament this time. And it should all happen properly. Every team starts off, I imagine, at
14:44least we do, to say that we have to earn the right to compete. And when I make that statement to the
14:50team, I said, how do we earn the right to compete? It's by, first of all, being in the top four.
14:56So that is the first goal that you set for yourself. That by being in the top four, any one of those
15:02four can win the championship. Then of course, you have your secondary goal of saying, it'll be ideal
15:07to be in the top two and get two shots and go into the final. And then, of course, once you go to the
15:13final, then obviously you want to bring the silverware home. But good vibes, I must say, because
15:18a lot of our boys who were there even in 2014, they remember Abu Dhabi start and the same hotel.
15:25And one or two of them told me that it happens to be the same room as well. So it's interesting.
15:31So all the vibes are good. I think the team is in a good frame of mind. I'm very optimistic.
15:39So I think it's going to be a very unusual season. But as I always say, IPL is one of these
15:46things where until the first ball is bowled, there's so much noise happening around it. But once the first
15:51ball is bowled, then the focus shifts completely to cricket. And I'm looking forward to that on
15:57September 19th when the season starts. And then hopefully, we'll have a little bit of the
16:03rub of the green as well. But quite excited about it and can't wait for it to start.
16:07It's been an absolute pleasure, as always, to have you on my show, Venky Mysore. I just hope
16:12there will be more occasions right through this season where you are on this show of mine.
16:16And we'll celebrate KKR together, celebrate you together. It's been a challenging few months to
16:21be able to put this show on for each one of us, for your fans. I'm sure you will connect with
16:27them like you've already told me in other forums. So plenty in store for you. So challenging times
16:32at the same time, exciting times. So on my wish list to have you more, to have your players on
16:38the show. Thank you very, very much. Thank you, Gauria. It will be a pleasure. Thank you so much for your kind wishes.