The Hindu Business Line : The ‘new’ huddle!

When Hariharasubramanian, Vice President, India Cements got a congratulatory call just minutes after the DLF IPL final about a week ago, he was puzzled.

His caller was breathless and heaping praise on the Chennai Super Kings team for their ’win’ in the final. Chennai Super Kings had just lost a last ball thriller to Rajasthan Royals.

So was the caller being sarcastic? Not really. Like millions of others, this caller was fooled by something else. He saw the Chennai Super Kings team go into a ’huddle’ — something that traditionally the winning teams have started doing — and had assumed that Chennai had won!

Teams tend to get into a huddle or a close circle to celebrate the fall of an important wicket and to show team spirit when they have just won a match.

Worth his weight

But this was a first. A losing team getting into a huddle was unheard of. More often than not, the losing team would perform the perfunctory hand shake with the winners, go into the pavilion and begin the blame game.

This time was different — and M. S. Dhoni, the skipper of the Chennai Super Kings, gets the credit for this.

He called the boys together and said that they had performed well and there was nothing to be ashamed of.

He asked them to get ready to win next year. The franchisee owners are happy, never mind their team lost in the final. They think their captain is worth his weight in gold.

No wonder that N. Srinivasan, Managing Director, India Cements, shrewdly bid the highest amount of 1.5 million dollars (Rs 6 crore) for Dhoni when the player auction process was on. The logic was simple. Mr Srinivasan felt that in bidding for Dhoni, they got a terrific batsman, competent wicket keeper, inspirational captain and a super brand — all rolled into one.

That’s one investment that has paid back swiftly.

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