Feature Stories

The roar from the three venues says it all, it isn’t coming from a sanctuary nearby, but from the 11 men out on the field. The Royal Bengal Tigers are flying high at the moment, at the top of the battle having lost only one of their games so far.

There is a certainly a spunk in the camp, and Craig McMillan has marshaled his troops well. But the inspiration might come from none other than the popular “Disco Dancer” Mithun Chakraborty. The popular Bengali actor who bought the franchise earlier this year, has certainly been the hidden catalyst to their performances.

He changed the name from the Kolkata Tigers, to the Royal Bengal Tigers as he felt his fan following extended across various regions of the state and not just confined to the capital. Mithun Da as he is affectionately known, said he was always interested in floating a cricket or a footballing side, and he is grateful to the ICL for providing him this opportunity. Asked what was the inspiration on buying the Tigers’ side, he said “I have always been a sports lover. I organized the Raj Kapoor tournament in Chembur and Mumbai where several of the biggest stars have participated in. Kolkata and Bengal have given me so much, this is my way of giving something back to the people of Bengal”.

He went on to include “although passion was the driving factor, there is a great deal of business involved in it as well”. “I feel there is a lot of  untapped business and scope to invest in these teams across the ICL.” "I am an entertainer and Twenty20 is a fantastic form of entertainment. There is craze and good business in it. So I decided to try my luck. I promised after completing the formalities, I would go on to add a new name, a logo as well innovate and add a theme song. There is still so much more that I will go on to add”.

He also mentioned that the realization of him owning a team in the ICL and making it a profitable venture didn’t strike him early enough. He said it was fantastic, to be the first one to invest in an ICL team. But said, it isn’t as easy as it looks, after all running a team in top notch league against arch competitors does have several implications. “I have put a lot at stake, and so far I am reaping the rewards, to see my team do so well”.

Even the post match celebrations, where he accidentally hurt his arm was not painful enough to wipe that beaming smile off his face, after the Tigers comfortably defeated the Warriors. Mithun Da said the Royal Bengal Tigers would simply exemplify the spirit of the Bengal Tiger, and imbibe his fighting spirit. “I have fought for everything and my team will be a fighting team as well."

The Bengal team was presented Tiger striped shawls as token of their new team owner’s appreciation prior to the start of the game. There are a lot more changes in this new edition of the ICL, and this is just one of them. Mithun Da has certainly got the ball rolling in terms of ICL franchise ownership, and by the looks of it there could be a lot more to come.

Akshobh Giridharadas