Rahul-Goenka episode in IPL: Can opt-out card right the player-owner balance?
cricket match, the biggest news still had nothing to do with the on-field action.
After being set 166 to win in 20 overs by the Lucknow Super Giants, the Sunrisers Hyderabad openers accomplished the task in a jaw dropping 9.4 overs, averaging 17.27 runs per over. It was an amazing performance, but the post-game social media discourse was mostly about what the broadcast cameras picked up just off the field.
The LSG owner, Sanjiv Goenka, was in an animated discussion with his captain, K L Rahul. It was Goenka who was doing most of the talking, and the body language and expressions were clearly of a man who was angrily demanding an explanation for the debacle.
There is probably place for a postmortem about what Rahul could have done to stop, or at any rate stem the murderous assault mounted by the most destructive opening pair in this year’s tournament. But most agreed that the visuals of Rahul, a top professional cricketer being taken to task by an owner who probably hadn’t played the game at anywhere approaching that level were disturbing and crossed a line that separated commerce from cricket.
The line between professional owners and their sporting teams has always been difficult to draw. To expect zenlike patience and forbearance from owners who had invested millions of dollars and a great deal of passion is not totally reasonable.
The best-regarded owners tend to hide their tensions from the team, let professionals run the sporting part of the business, and are content to be ceremonial heads of that part of
