In a freewheeling chat with RevSportz, Shashwat Goenka opens up on Mohun Bagan doing well in the current football season. They will play the ISL final on Saturday in Kolkata. At the same time, Lucknow Super Giants have also been brilliant in IPL 2024. Shashwat speaks of giving the coaches enormous freedom, in both the sports.
Joining Shashwat in the interview is Marcus Stoinis, a massive superstar. He talks of the changes in T20 cricket in IPL 2024, and quickly adds the ICC T20 World Cup may be different.
Boria: Look at Lucknow Super Giants. Six wins and two more, they will qualify for the IPL playoffs in all three seasons they have been part of. Mohun Bagan Super Giant eying a treble after the Durand Cup, ISL League Shield, and now the ISL final. What are you doing right?
Shashwat: It is the teams and the coaches. It is about getting everyone into work as a team and each of them in their respective leagues are doing a fabulous job.
Boria: Getting Justin Langer in, a lot of high-profile players, and team is doing well. Thoughts?
Shashwat: Cricket is a team game and every team knows it. But to make it work, that responsibility is on the captain and coach. Both KL (Rahul) and JL (Langer) have manged to bring the best out of everyone and play each person to their strength.
Boria: What about you, your experience?
Shashwat: Cricket definitely has been a fabulous experience for us. With the Lucknow Super Giant (LSG), with the IPL, it gave us a new direction of business. It also gave us a chance to combine the passion for sports along with a strong business case. What BCCI has done with the IPL is unparallel. It is a perfect model for all world sports league as a case study.
Boria: When I was in Lucknow, the stadium was full. I asked a local and he said that every match the stadium gets full. So, you must be very happy to build that connection with the locals already?
Shashwat: This is just our third season. In fact, only the second season in Lucknow as the first season was under the Covid protocol. People in Lucknow have come out in large numbers to support LSG. Honestly, it is lot more than we expected. The administration, people of Lucknow and UP have been very supportive and that is why you see a full stadium.
Boria: Happy players, saw players in the hotel having fun with each other, so much positive vibes. Was that a conscious thought to make it like a family?
Shashwat: Absolutely. It is a basic that we have always wanted whether it is in football or cricket. We really wanted everyone to think as a one, a family and that is ultimately helping in both cases to reach to the ultimate goal of winning.
Boria: The coaches also said the owners have given them complete freedom.
Shashwat: It is same for all our businesses. We are not expert in any of the businesses we run. We are representatives of the board; we are here to maximise the shareholder value. So, in cricket, it’s the captain and coach who are there to take the right calls.
Boria: What about football, MBSG on the brink of a treble. A final on home soil?
Shashwat: All tickets are sold out and this is the love that people share for Mohun Bagan Super Giant. So far, the season has been great and now, let’s wait for Saturday, finger crossed!
Boria: Bringing Habas was a masterstroke and huge credit goes to you and your dad. Whatever happens in the final, the season has been a superb one!
Shashwat: Absolutely. The season has gone amazingly well and they have really come together as one unit, on team. The results reflect it.
Boria: Any celebration planned?
Shashwat: It is a little early. Let’s wait until Saturday. Ultimately, it’s a sport!
Boria: LSG, very confident of making it to the playoffs?
Shashwat: For us, next three games are going to be crucial. With every match, equations are changing and teams are going up and down in the table. Let’s see how it goes.
Boria: KL, Pooran, Stoinis all are in form. Bowlers have started to come in form. So, as a unite LSG peaking at the right time, business end of the tournament?
Shashwat: Things are falling into place. The best part is everyone is ready to give their best when team needs it. That is the best thing!
Boria: Disappointed to see Mayank Yadav getting injured again. But you must be very pleased to see how he came up this season?
Shashwat: Absolutely! He is one of the fastest bowlers in the world and the energy, he has, is electrifying.
Boria: While running one of the largest corporations in the world, you know the pressure when it comes to corporate battles! Any message that you pass on regarding how you handle the pressure?
Shashwat: The main moto has always been do not look out only for outcomes. Just go out there and give your best. So when you look back, you know that you did your best. And when you do that, the outcomes will come. This is the philosophy I put forward to the teams as well.
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#SuperGiants Exclusive 🔴
“It gives you a different avenue for business and it allows you to combine your passion for sport”-
sports and business come hand in hand with the franchises in both the top leagues for #ShashwatGoenka.How is the management looking forward to the… pic.twitter.com/1n5nsqJ65Q
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 3, 2024
Boria: Welcome, Marcus Stoinis, tell me about that knock in Chepauk.
Stoinis: It was a big chase. When you start to chase, you do not think about winning. First, you set small targets and then, along with your partners, you build partnerships and get closer and closer. We were fortunate that we managed to do it that day.
Boria: When did you start to believe?
Stoinis: I think while batting with Nicky P (Pooran). We had the belief that we can do it and what I said, still a lot of work was needed to be done and the partnerships helped us
Boria: Has batting changed in IPL or in T20s? 200s are being scored for fun, batters’ strike rates have gone up.
Stoinis: Players have started to believe and understand T20 cricket more. Wickets are obviously great, particularly in this year’s IPL. It’s a mindset shift and exciting for the game of cricket. People have figured out how you need to go in Powerplay overs.
Boria: Is it also because of that Impact Player rule?
Stoinis: It has a role. Batters can play their shots more freely, especially at the top.
Boria: Is it now necessary for every player to adapt to this new mindset of aggressive batting?
Stoinis: To an extent, it is! But there will always be a need of those thankful players who can play in different circumstances. It is right that all batters need to up their game a bit but you need players who thinks, understands the game, the conditions.
Boria: Is it a batters’ game now? As a bowler, what do you think?
Stoinis: It’s about the mindset. I saw that tweet from Dale Steyn, what a great time to be a bowler. It is. If you can adapt to the conditions, maintain a good run rate, you set yourself different from everyone. So as a bowler, this is also your chance to make a mark!
Boria: Tell me a little bit about the LSG dressing room?
Stoinis: I know Justin for a long time. Along with him, we have Adam Voges, Morne Morkel, Lance Klusener, and Jonty Rhodes. It has been a cooperative approach, believe in each other to have the right information. Justin is a great man-manager and organiser.
Boria: Tell me a little bit about Mayank Yadav?
Stoinis: I have hardly seen anyone bowl that fast. So, he is a great kid, young, works really hard. Great work ethic and he is someone who needs to be look after to an extent because bowling at that pace at this young age, your body will get affected. Very bright future ahead.
Boria: How is he at the nets?
Stoinis: Last year, he was in nets, bowled fast and was looking to get into the team. But this year he has a lot more control and he knows he has the pace.
Boria: Can you tell me the criticism now players like Rohit, Virat or KL face, especially on social media?
Stoinis: It is very hard. Fans are crucial and for them, we play all around the world. On social media, people can say whatever they want from behind a screen and I do not see this stopping. Even, sorry for the next generation as it will be harder. I do not like that.
Boria: Are you surprised to see MS Dhoni all of a sudden?
Stoinis: He is playing with a lot of enjoyment and freedom. Some new kind of shots that he has played, were superb. He is brilliant, an inspiration but he should come out to bat a bit earlier.
Boria: Australia, World Cup coming up. Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, unbelievable team?
Stoinis: It is exciting. The last 3-4 years have been good for the Australian cricket whether it is Test cricket or T20s. The kind of cricket we want to play, with players like Fraser (if he gets his chances), Head coming in, it is exciting.
Boria: Do you think that in World Cup also, we will see scores like these 200s in IPL? In West Indies, pitches might come into play or this is the going forward?
Stoinis: 250 scores might be a good one a good wicket. But on a turning wicket, 180-200 will be a good score. Especially, at the business end of the World Cup.
Boria: 50 runs needed in last three overs. You are there with your partner at the non-striker end. Take me to your mind, how you deal with that pressure?
Stoinis: At that situation, you know that the strike bowler will not bowl the last over. He will come at the 18th or 19th over. So, I need to attack the other! For me, I always want to take the game to the last over. I always try to take the game to a position where the bowler is at least as nervous as I am. A situation where bowlers will take time, captain will run into him, make dynamic changes. So, that is the thought process for me in such a situation.
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