‘Three hours is too long’: Robin Uthappa on cricket’s future and his big Abu Dhabi T10 bet

Dubai: Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has spent years playing for cricket franchise owners. Now, he gets to find out what it's like to be one.

He has teamed up with Dubai-based investor and close friend Jeetu Kataria to buy Yas Lions, an Abu Dhabi T10 franchise. And unlike some celebrity investors who are happy to lend their names to a sporting venture, Uthappa intends to be involved in everything from picking players to building a dressing-room culture.

Interestingly, the whole venture began with a conversation between two friends.

“He said, ‘If you lead it, then I’ll do it,’” Uthappa recalled of Kataria's response when he floated the idea.

“I said, ‘Okay, I’ll lead it.’”

Six weeks into their ownership, Uthappa is juggling the roles of co-owner, administrator and batting coach. It's a considerable shift for someone accustomed to being judged by his performances on the pitch. Now, his decisions will affect an entire team.

And he's under no illusion that being a good cricketer automatically makes him a good franchise owner.

"You have to wear two different hats under these circumstances. One is you need to wear the hat of an administrator, but also you need to know when to don the hat of a cricketer because you played that and you know that part really well."

And being the boss doesn't mean controlling every little decision.

"You've got to pick the right people, and you've got to trust them with the process. So it's almost like hands on, hands off kind of an approach where everything is run by you, but then you give them the freedom to run the whole thing."

Uthappa also makes sure his business partner and him are on the same page.

"I'm running point, but I make sure that he's in the loop of everything that we're doing, so that he knows that every decision that is made is an informed one."

Kataria, who has watched Uthappa's cricketing and entrepreneurial journey over the years, says handing him the reins was an easy call.

"We have given the whole mandate to Robin to run the whole."

When investment advice turns into a business partnership

The two men's friendship began around five years ago, after Uthappa moved to Dubai and sought Kataria's advice on managing his investments.

"When he met me, he met me for advice on his investments, because I come from a wealth management background," Kataria recalled.

"We were discussing different investment cycles, on where to invest, where the markets are heading."

What began as financial conversations soon expanded into discussions about entrepreneurship, digital assets and cricket.

"I have seen that zeal in him, that he puts his 100 per cent in each and everything, and the research what he has done in every field," said Kataria.

Uthappa, for his part, says investing is about understanding the fundamentals rather than blindly chasing returns.

"What makes an investment a good one? How does that long-term value [develop]? Are there real-world assets attached to that? What is the scale of something, and how is it going to do well as a company over a period of time?"

"You've got to put in the hours to have the faith."

Kataria has had his own entrepreneurial journey in the UAE. After leaving a corporate job in India and establishing an investment banking business, he moved to the Emirates around 2016-17 to expand his work with family offices.

He subsequently ventured into digital assets, eventually developing a trading platform for high-net-worth clients.

"We started with a five-people team back in 2019. We are more than 300 people today," he said.

His investment philosophy is straightforward.

"When we invest in companies, we don't see what is the value of the company on day one, but what is the longer-term value it will create, and who are the people leading that company."

It's also why he believes Yas Lions makes business sense.

For Uthappa, the appeal of partnering with Kataria goes beyond access to capital.

"What connects us is the fact that our risk appetite is similar, but our spectrum of being in something is quite long," he said.

"So it's long-term investment, whether it's the relationship, whether it's investing your finances and funds ... whatever we're thinking, we're thinking long-term."

But isn't mixing friendship with money a risky proposition? Business partnerships have been known to ruin perfectly good friendships.

Kataria isn't worried.

"The lines are drawn," he said, referring to where their personal relationship ends and professional responsibilities begin.

Why T10 makes business sense

Uthappa is convinced that cricket's shortest format has a future beyond its traditional fan base, particularly in countries where the sport is still finding its feet.

"I genuinely believe this is the easiest version of the game to introduce to non-cricket playing countries and non-cricket playing audiences," he said.

"You get sixes, fours, or you get wickets. So it's quick. It's slightly dopamine driven."

With matches lasting around 90 minutes, the format offers instant gratification in a sporting world increasingly competing for viewers' attention.

"Think of it as the inception of T20. When T20s started, people were like, 'Hey, what is this version of the game? It doesn't take too much time at all.' And now, 20 years later, people are saying three hours is too long."

"So we've got to evolve in the direction in which the game is evolving."

He believes the Abu Dhabi Sports Council's involvement gives the tournament room to grow.

"I think it's got the potential to spread its wings and go become global even."

Kataria sees the UAE's business environment as another advantage.

"I see [the UAE] as a growth capital of the world," he said.

He pointed to the country's growing entrepreneurial community, international investments and diverse population as reasons why a cricket franchise could have lasting value.

For the two men, Yas Lions is as much a business proposition as a sporting passion.

No room for big egos

Uthappa's approach to assembling the Yas Lions squad is interesting. He isn't simply chasing star power or impressive cricketing statistics.

"We were very clear that the underlying requirement to be a part of our group was that they have to be a good human being at the very base of it," he said.

"When I say that from a cricketing perspective, it means people who are willing to put the team ahead of themselves."

It's a quality that can be difficult to find in professional sport, where personal milestones and individual contracts often carry enormous weight.

"The thing about sport is it reveals first principles of any human being," Uthappa said.

"When you play a sport under pressure, you go back to who you are, not what you train yourself to show or be."

He believes players should be ambitious without losing sight of the bigger picture.

"I think it's important to be self-centred, but to marry being self-centred whilst having the team's interests at the forefront."

The squad features international players Jason Holder, Dasun Shanaka and Akeal Hosein, with Holder chosen for his ability to bring people together.

"Jason is someone who leads through inspiration and leads through doing stuff himself and leads through working well with people together," Uthappa said.

"He has the ability as a leader to bring people together."

Uthappa says they managed to sign almost everyone they had targeted.

"We got about 99 per cent of the people that we wanted. Probably just one or two per cent missed out."

And while T10 demands aggressive cricket from the first ball, his advice to the squad is surprisingly uncomplicated.

"Just go out there and have fun, express yourself, and think of this as very, very serious gully cricket."

"So it's still a lot of fun, but there's a lot at stake."

A team culture that isn't toxic

If there's one thing Uthappa and Kataria agree on, it's that talent alone cannot build a successful organisation.

"You need leaders who stand true to those values. And you need to have open lines of communication. You need to be able to agree to disagree with each other and still coexist," said Uthappa.

Having played for different franchises, he has experienced how dramatically team cultures can vary.

"As a cricketer, you go from franchise to franchise, and each franchise is not run by the same teams," he said.

"You have to find yourself and find yourself within each franchise."

Kataria's view is shaped by his experience building businesses.

"A person can leave the organisation because of the pay rise or any other issue. He might come back. But if he leaves the organisation because of the culture, he will never come back to you."

It's a philosophy they intend to bring to Yas Lions, where Uthappa wants players to feel they belong rather than simply turn up for a tournament and collect their paycheques.

"Over the next five years, can I build a culture that's one that people really enjoy and they would say, 'I want to go back to Yas Lions'?"

Winning, he believes, should follow from getting the basics right.

"It's an opportunity to build something good over a period of time. And I think when you build something good, the byproduct of that is winning and results being produced."

"You can't guarantee anything. But what you can guarantee is to give yourself the best chance to be successful."

Three players on their wish list

Naturally, the two new franchise owners have a few dream signings in mind.

"I would love to have Sunil Narine and Jos Buttler in my squad at some point," said Uthappa.

Kataria added another big-hitting name: Tim David.

Whether those players eventually join Yas Lions remains to be seen.

For now, Uthappa appears satisfied with the direction his life has taken since moving to Dubai.

"I think the seeds that were sown in the last five years are ripe for harvest right now, and things seem like they're just moving in the right direction."

It's a new chapter for the former Indian cricketer, who has traded the pressures of performing on the field for the challenges of building a franchise off it.

The matches may be over in 90 minutes, but Uthappa and Kataria have given themselves five years to prove that Yas Lions is more than a passing investment.