Brick by careful brick, well-orchestrated leaks are gushing forth. There is talk of conflicting teams lists, of the team owner being overruled by the erstwhile CEO and the embattled skipper at the player auctions. A campaign that began with much hype and pomp has come to a shuddering halt as Bangalore’s Royal Challengers have wiped the floor in the Indian Premier League. Against this backdrop, and particularly given Vijay Mallya’s penchant for undiluted success, it is no surprise that the blame game has begun in right earnest.

Only one man is doing the talking. Again, it is no surprise that it is the flamboyant Mallya, his ego undoubtedly slighted at his team managing no more than two victories from nine games and no longer even a theoretical contender for a semifinal slot. The Royal Challengers, let us get this straight, haven’t even played like a collection of champions, let alone a champion outfit; collectively, they have failed to rise to the demands of a format that is admittedly new to them, but hardly different for the seven other teams in the world’s most publicised domestic competition.

Unlike Mallya, sacked CEO Charu Sharma has allowed himself to be ruled by his mind rather than his heart in the immediate aftermath of his unceremonious ouster; as is his wont, Rahul Dravid has shied away from commenting on Mallya’s thinly veiled attack holding Sharma and the captain totally responsible for the purchase of personnel who haven’t justified inflated price tags and attendant expectations. Tempting as it might be to believe that Mallya is angry because he is the one who has most at stake, it must be remembered that as under-performing as the Challengers have been, it is not for want of either hunger or desire. A proud set of individuals is most definitely hurting at plumbing the depths, but that is no balm either for Mallya or the supporters -- yes, there still are plenty! -- of the team itself.

Profitable as most of his corporate ventures have been, Mallya might have been inclined to believe when he made up his mind to own a franchise that huge sums of money will do the trick for him. As much as sport is increasingly bordering on an industry these days, financial clout is no guarantee for success. Vast sums of money do not necessarily translate into results, but it is quite apparent that the liquor baron for whom success has been a constant, faithful companion is short on patience when it comes to the performances -- or lack of them -- of his not so Royal Challengers.

Not unlike the Challengers, the Deccan Chargers too have had a miserable run in the IPL. On paper, VVS Laxman’s band appears a more potent and forceful Twenty20 combination, yet they languish in the bottom two. Surely, team owners Deccan Chronicle aren’t amused, but they have reserved judgement. Laxman’s assertion that his side ‘was not being put under pressure’ by the owners despite having won just two matches is in stark contrast to the predicament of the Royal Challengers personnel, who are living constantly in an atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity, fearful of where the next salvo will come from -- not so difficult to figure out, that! -- and who the next target will be -- not such an easy guess!

Perhaps, a less aggressive approach, with recriminations and blame-gaming restricted to the confines of four walls, might have been a more prudent option, but that was entirely Mallya’s call. By choosing to vocally and publicly express his displeasure, largely at the procurement of personnel, the team owner has left the captain in particular holding the baby.

Despite being a party to the initial player auction in Mumbai in February, Mallya allowed himself to defer then to the wisdom of Dravid. Even at that stage -- forget about the benefits of hindsight -- it was difficult to see the ‘thinking man’s team’ doing serious damage in this version of the game. The Royal Challengers came into the IPL wanting to play ‘smart cricket’ but less than a fortnight into the tournament, it was obvious that they had perhaps been too smart for their own good, and that smartness doesn’t always pay, not least in a three-hour game that places greater emphasis on other qualities.

The inherent flaw in the composition of the squad has come back to haunt the Challengers. It now emerges that Mallya would rather have had the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robin Uthappa and Brendon McCullum in his outfit. These men have had their moments. Dhoni has led the Chennai Super Kings with flair and imagination, and batted with customary flamboyance -- did that trait in the Indian one-day captain catch Mallya’s eye?! -- while Coorg lad Uthappa is the leading scorer for the Mumbai Indians. McCullum, of course, uncorked that magnum opus in the inaugural tie for the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy stadium, a battering the Challengers are still to recover from, it would appear.

Between them, though, Dhoni ($1.5 million), Uthappa ($800,000) and McCullum ($700,000) went for $3 million at the auction. It meant that, with a cap of $5 million on franchise owners, the Challengers would have been left with no more than $2 million to put together the rest of the squad. Not very possible, one would have thought!

Bruising striker
Alongside Anil Kumble, Aussie Cameron White was purchased for the second highest amount, $500,000, by the Challengers. White is something of a T20 expert, and the highest individual scorer in this format until McCullum unleashed that stunning 158 not out on April 18. White is the most bruising striker within the Challengers set-up, perhaps the only one capable of turning a match on its head with the bat. Yet, his appearances have been sporadic to say the least.

The injury to Nathan Bracken, and the unavailability of Dale Steyn for the early skirmishes -- by the time the Protean tearaway arrived, a lot of the momentum had been lost -- were unkind cuts the Challengers could have done without, but don’t they say something about making your own luck? The Challengers didn’t do it at the auction, they haven’t done it on the park, and now, their employer isn’t doing them any favours. What a royal mess!