Comilla’s recipe for success involves ‘not just money’

To know more about how the franchise consistently managed to produce success, The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin caught up with Nafisa Kamal, the owner of the Comilla franchise, who expressed her passion and pointed out the improvement areas for the tournament, alongside a few other topics. The excerpts of the exclusive interview are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): Comilla Victorians are the most successful franchise in the history of BPL. As an owner, could you tell us about the motto of your team?

Nafisa Kamal (NK): I believe we have managed to create a sustainable success-pattern solely because of our team culture. From day one, it is ingrained in our players' attitude that they belong to a team that's not going to settle for anything less than the cup. Our slogan 'win or win' is a mantra that sums up our team culture.

It came as no surprise to witness Comilla Victorians live up to their reputation in the latest Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season.

DS: Despite the huge challenge over the availability of top foreign cricketers, Comilla managed to rope in some big names this time too. Tell us how you planned in terms of forming a balanced team?

NK: The BPL group stage fixtures had clashed with the ILT20 and SA20 leagues. As always, I am solely responsible for the recruitment of foreign players in our team. What I did right away was break down the BPL timeline into three slots. The first slot gave us a small window before the other two leagues started. The second window was entirely limited to Pakistani players, the only ones not participating in the other 2 leagues, but they were also at the risk of leaving upon the PSL announcement. So I created the third slot just for the playoffs, this was the time when the Pakistanis would leave and other players from the ILt20 and SA20 would be available as those leagues' group stages would end.

I remember when I approached players to sign them for my third slot, which involved the Eliminator and Final match of the BPL, they were shocked that no other team could dare to sign for the playoffs like we did. That was in October and we had already signed Sunil [Narine], Moeen [Ali] and Andre [Russell] for our playoffs in mid-February.

There's been a lot of talk on how we spend more than other teams on foreign players, but our foreign players are almost all repeats from previous seasons. This happens when a successful franchise has built strong relationships and loyalties with these foreign players so that both the players and their agents give us priority and consider many other factors besides money. What makes one franchise more successful with foreign players' recruitment is not just money, it takes long-term vision, planning and courage too.

DS: Comilla started off this edition with three consecutive defeats before eventually becoming the first team to confirm the final. As an owner, how did you react to the ups and downs of the team?

NK: The first three defeats were unsettling, of course, because we were doing everything right according to plan and still not getting results. I remember, my father asked me and my sister to fly to Chittagong and give the team our support at this difficult time. We got together with the coach, captain and all the players and support staff and shared our worries, hopes and everything that made us a team.

 [Mohamad] Rizwan landed on the morning of the third defeat, after which he told us how his PSL franchise Multan Sultans turned around after six losses to become champions. I researched IPL teams that made strong comebacks after failing in the first half. We knew it has happened in history and if any team can achieve that comeback in the BPL, it's Comilla Victorians.

DS: Considering the current context, what should be your suggestion to make the BPL more lucrative and financially viable for franchise owners?

NK: I remember being invited for tea by the BPL governing council, I remember going to BCB, to discuss my views on how to make the BPL financially viable for all the franchises involved. I also remember how after that talk over tea, the whole BPL got cancelled that year. So, I think it's best that I keep my views on this topic to myself. I certainly don't want the BPL to be cancelled again, especially now that the three-year agreements have been signed.

DS: Despite huge potential in the first few editions, the BPL gradually lost its charm compared to the other franchise leagues. What is the reason behind this and your suggestion to turn things around again?

NK: I won't comment on whether the BPL is the second-best franchise after the IPL, as we are told, but I will say that we do have the second-biggest market after the IPL. Unfortunately, we have not been able to tap into that potential yet.

 Look at the ILT20, each team had nine overseas players, with two locals per team. There's hardly any genuine passion or crowd involvement. It's quite a manufactured tournament with no ICC recognition. Look at the PSL, the currency stands at 1 USD to 260 Pakistani rupees. At the SA20, the franchises are all held by foreign owners, and the Lanka Premier league is played in front of empty stands. I am pointing out all the shortcomings of these other leagues because we still do have an upper hand over them.

Every year we are investing 15 to 20 crores on a tournament where we should be important stakeholders. So far we have not had any formal meeting with the BPL governing council and without going into further details, I think for now that should be the starting point to develop the BPL.