Kapil paaji's lesson in leadership

LUCKNOW: What better way to have a grand finale to the three-day Manfest being hosted at IIM Lucknow than to have the ''wadda paaji'' of cricket, Kapil Dev, clean bowling the cricket crazy management students by regaling them with hilarious anecdotes.
On a day when the ''men in blue'' did the country proud Down Under, at the Gabba in Brisbane to be precise, Kapil sent a rib-tickler down the isle.As a rookie arriving in Perth, Australia for the first time in 1981, Kapil was literally shaking in his boots. "An Australian cab driver with his funny cockney accent said, ''You come here to die''. Adrenaline pumping and not to be intimidated by what he thought was an obvious reference to the fearsome Aussie attack, pat came my reply — No I come here to live. Then someoneintervened and said what the cabbie meant ''Have you come here today?''" said Kapil dil se.
He agreed that he may not be the most proficient in English but he has never let it act as an impediment in his career graph. "What you need in order to succeed in any arena of life is passion for your sport and a strong sense of commitment". When a student questioned him about how to overcome the lean patches in your life particularly in the context of the match fixing controversy, he exhibited a similar resilience by admitting that allegations like this can certainly rattle you. But my conscience was clear which is why I was able to overcome this phase.
The true character of a champion is exhibited through his ability to bounce back after a lean period. For B-school students where leadership qualities as well as being a team player are of paramount importance there were a few lessons from the great game of cricket particularly at the World Cup.
Once more the crowds hushed up as he reminisced, "I would say the World Cup was a sweet accident. What teams plan in the dressing room are just plans which need constant modification as the game is completely unpredictable. Though we were ranked a dismal 9th, we realised that we were better than what we thought. Ultimately the methodology has to be right. All I can remember saying is, Lets play like champions. Give our best and the next six hours could change our lives". And the rest is cricketing history.
Speaking on the need for a genuine all-rounder in the current team he added that the idea is not to regret it but to do your best within the given limitations. He added that sometimes two negatives make a positive and that is what a genuine leader is about.
He added that one shouldn''t start pushing their children at the age of 6-7 years to become the perfect cricketer. Depriving them of their childhood is not part of the game. He said his own future strategy is to interact with more youngsters and to motivate them to emerge as true champions.