IPL 2023: Waiting to paint the town red

Fifteen years of not winning the IPL has tied RCB, DC and Punjab Kings in an insufferable knot

Of all the questions one could prepare for in a team sport, probably nothing distresses more than the interrogation about the ‘wait’. Fifteen years can be an eternity. And in every season, all Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore have managed to do is find different ways to lose. Is there light at the end of this tunnel? Success is difficult to predict. But when it eludes a team for so long, no amount of introspection or corrective measures appear to be enough.

Former RCB players Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers with current team members acknowledge the crowd during RCB Unbox event at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (PTI)

The franchises haven’t stopped trying though. Ranging from wholesale makeovers to changing names of the teams, franchises have undergone similar convulsions after every season. Heads have rolled too frequently. If an Indian captain doesn’t work, give the job to a foreigner. Buy impact players, but don’t compromise on the franchise philosophy. Or change it at times, for the sake of quick-fix results. None of it has worked, not in the way the franchises would have hoped for. There have been some extraordinary highs, some nearly-there moments, but all of that has been buried under the compounding burden of a 15-year barren run.

Twice runners-up, five times in the playoffs, Royal Challengers Bangalore are probably the unluckiest team despite a few questionable acquisitions over the years. With one final and five playoffs finishes, Delhi Capitals too could say the rub of the green hasn’t gone their way at times. But barring a 2014 final loss to KKR and a semi-final defeat in 2008, Punjab Kings haven’t quite arrived at the IPL. An unstable core, no particular direction in terms of long-term captaincy and too many changes in the playing eleven have contributed to this inconsistency. And the most stinging criticism has come from a former player. "They chop and change man, it is ridiculous,” Chris Gayle said in an interview in December. “You keep chopping and changing, they never have a set eleven whether you win a match.”

Hope’s restored frequently, more so after auctions as new, stronger squads keep emerging from the wreckage. Some of the most extravagant IPL bids ever have been authorised by these three franchises. Kings buying Sam Curran for ₹18.5 crore this season, DC getting Yuvraj Singh for ₹16 crore a year after RCB splashed ₹14 crore on him, Kylie Jamieson going to RCB for ₹15 crore in 2021, Liam Livingston to Punjab Kings for ₹11.5 crore–the list is pretty exhaustive.

But it wasn’t always money well spent. Some were duds, some had mediocre outings while others still find themselves in the scheme of things mostly because the management hasn’t given up on them. Retaining Prithvi Shaw was such an act of faith, especially after Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting had spoken about Shaw’s reluctance to train despite a lean phase. Dealing with a Rishabh Pant-sized hole now, Capitals – who had invested heavily in the next generation when Rahul Dravid was the mentor – need Shaw to fire more than ever.

Several times have we seen a near-perfect run from Bangalore and Capitals, till they fell agonisingly short. This is why it’s pertinent to ask whether not winning for 15 years can play on the mind. Because nothing beats that winning feeling. Even Harmanpreet Kaur–who finally laid hands on a trophy after repeatedly missing the mark–has vouched for it after leading Mumbai Indians to their maiden WPL win. But during an interaction with the RCB women’s team earlier this month, Virat Kohli said: "I have played IPL for 15 years and I haven't won it yet but that doesn't stop me from being excited every year. That's all I can do, that's all the effort I can put in every game, every tournament that I play. If we win, great. If we don't, I am not going to go to my grave thinking oh, if only I had won the IPL I would have been a happy man. It doesn't happen like that.”

Regardless of how Kohli or anyone else may choose to view their trophyless run, hope should still float the boat for these three franchises. It would be naive to suggest mistakes would be amended with a change of personnel or approach. But in a tournament that consistently thrives on the barest of margins, there is bound to be a phase or a break of luck that takes one of them over the finishing line. That anticipation alone can go a long way in inspiring a team to make their destiny.