RPS: the IPL's Atlético de Kolkata?

One of the key attractions of IPL 2016 is the presence of two new teams, Rising Pune Supergiants and the Gujarat Lions. Allowed to pick five players from among the pool consisting of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals players in a draft, both teams have subsequently done well in the auction and are poised to mount a serious challenge to the established franchises. 

While Gujarat has a number of key all-rounders in their ranks in Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja, Pune has serious batting firepower in Steve Smith, Kevin Pietersen, M.S. Dhoni, Francois du Plessis and Ajinkya Rahane. While fast bowling is a concern for Pune with no express fast bowler on the team, impact hitting might be an issue with Gujarat, which is a tad over reliant on Brendon McCullum at the top. In Brad Hodge for Gujarat and Stephen Fleming for Pune, the two teams have a coach and mentor of serious repute. 

While Gujarat Lions is owned by Intex Technologies, one of the largest mobile phone makers in India, Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) is owned by Sanjiv Goenka of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. Goenka, who narrowly missed out picking up a team during the initial auctions in 2008, sounded confident about his team’s final composition and the IPL as a serious brand-building exercise for the group. He tells GN Focus more:

You were forever keen on the Indian Premier League. You already have the ISL team Atlético de Kolkata. Now you have bought into the IPL. What is your vision for sport going forward?

I am keen on sports per se and want to do as much as I can for the development of Indian sport. Atlético de Kolkata has already managed to capture the imagination of the fans and has won the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League and I’d want the same with Rising Pune Supergiants. We have a great team with a good captain and coach, [so] there is no reason we can’t make a serious pitch for the trophy in our first year. 

Have you had a pep talk with your boys? What are your expectations?

I am not one to put any pressure on my players and want them to enjoy the experience. I am confident people in Pune and fans of the game will enjoy watching the team play.

You stand to lose quite a bit of money based on the bid you put in for the team. Do you think you can leverage the brand enough to make up for this loss?

First, I am hopeful we will not lose much money if we perform well. Second, it is about nurturing Indian sport and giving people an excellent sporting experience. Finally, it is about leveraging the brand and in that sense the IPL is second to none. It adds much to the group’s vision going forward and I am confident the investment will be worthwhile at the end of the two years. You know me well enough to understand my passion for sport and that for me is the most important thing. I am aware there are no guarantees in sport and all I want is my team to do their best when they wear the RPS jersey. That will be good enough for us to leverage the brand.