Silver lining for DD in dismal season

Two consolation wins in the end but Delhi Daredevils (DD) were dismal this season. They finished last once again, a place they seem to own.

Why DD underperform consistently is a mystery because they have had much going in their favour. Over the years, they hired the best players and coaches, yet, it was a colossal waste and after 11 seasons have the poorest team record.

The only redeeming feature is Delhi’s faith in young domestic talent paying off. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are established stars and with youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Abhishek Sharma and Avesh Khan coming through, they have a core around which a strong squad can be built.

For all this on- field gloom, DD had one (minor) silver lining. Ticket sales hit a new high of about ~35 crores, almost ~5 crore a game, the best across all venues except Mumbai.

This despite losing the pricey clubhouse seating to a court order and another 4000 stand seats to security requirements. All seven matches were almost sold out.

Mind you, IPL tickets are not cheap and the high-end Kotla marquee stand sells at ~17000. Yet, ticket sales were brisk and, strangely, expensive tickets move faster than cheaper ones.

That Delhi is a VIP city explains this paradox. To feed the hunger, corporates buy tickets and send them to those who matter. IPL tickets are the new Diwali gifts, replacing sweets and dry fruits.

Interestingly, ticket sales are independent of team performance and luckily for Daredevils, cricket’s box office does not experience volatility on this front. It matters little whether Delhi win or lose, spectators turn up even for dead rubbers and 4 pm mid-week matches played in 40 degrees heat.

Normally, fans react with disappointment and disgust if their team performs poorly, and the backlash shows in low attendance at the stadium. But Delhi’s DNA is such that people keep coming back to the Kotla, partly because fan loyalty towards the Daredevils is low unlike Super Kings fans in Chennai or Mumbaikars for Mumbai Indians.

In that sense, the Delhi cricket lover is secular, not restricted by geographical boundaries or attached to the colour of a team jersey. There was a time when fans came to root for Virender Sehwag, but once he left, it hardly mattered who or which team was playing. Spectators are happy if Delhi win, if not they are still happy having a nice time.