The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Mallya throws his weight behind Kumble, Srinath

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Mallya throws his weight behind Kumble, Srinath

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: “Members, silence please,” was a recurring request on a pleasant Thursday night at the Century Club which had suddenly turned rather warm, thanks to the election heat triggered by the imminent Karnataka State Cricket Association polls.

Silence did briefly descend before making way for profuse applause when Vijay Mallya walked in and promised whole-hearted support to Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath for their respective bids to become KSCA president and secretary through the polls here on Sunday.

Kumble started proceedings in a brief speech that promised a new beginning.

“Your large numbers out here gives us strength. We cricketers thought that instead of staying outside and criticising the system, we would rather get in and help improve the game,” Kumble said and his words found an echo through Srinath, who assured everyone that facilities would be enhanced for the players, public and the members.

“Rahul Dravid aptly said that we would provide functional leadership and not just token leadership and we will find the time,” asserted Srinath while outgoing secretary Brijesh Patel requested the members to give a clear mandate for Kumble's team.

Mallya then donned the central role and said: “We all know that Anil is a cricketing genius but he is a good leader too. In the first IPL, Royal Challengers had a bad year but all it took to turn it around was the elevation of Anil to captaincy and after that we have made it to the semifinals and the final of the IPL, and even in the Champions League we have done remarkably well. It reflects Anil's astute leadership skills. Anil, Srinath and the other cricketers are like missiles and we, who are part of their group, are like the launchers and it is our responsibility to ensure that these missiles stay on target.”

Mallya, who was part of the current president Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar's faction during the 2007 elections, attributed his switch in allegiance to his disenchantment with association politics and the rich hope he has invested in Kumble.

“I was willing to support the KSCA academy and I did release some money but it was not implemented well. I did come in through Wadiyar and I have known him for more than 25 years and call him the ‘Prince.' What I figured later is that his supporters had just the one agenda — to destroy Brijesh — and cricket took a backseat, and I became a disturbed spectator. I hope all that will stop,” Mallya said.

He also added that he was planning on launching a Nation-wide hunt for a best race driver whom he will nurture in the Formula One arena.

With Mallya too pitching in, the stakes are high in the KSCA elections while the cricketers hope that their battle off the field will yield the desired results.

Meanwhile, Wadiyar said the allegations that his group did not promote cricket was baseless.

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