It is pretty cut-throat for coaches in IPL, says Brad Hodge

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the best T20 leagues in the world and the matches are hard-fought in each season. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have done it three times, Mumbai Indians (MI) have done it three times, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have done it two times and RR and SRH have done it one time each- becoming the IPL title holders and going onto creating history.

The very first franchise-based league in the world, The IPL sees the franchise owners putting more and more pressure on their support staff and team players to give them conclusive results and there is only one thing they want, to lift the IPL trophy.

This means cut-throat pressure on the coaches and one such coach Brad Hodge of Australia revealed the behind the scenes workings and the constant expectancy to lead the team to the IPL title has made it too hard for a coach to work properly. As much as it is the performances of the players in the field, the work and effort put in by the coaches and staff behind the scenes are valuable as well.

It is a brutal world out there in IPL for coaches

Brad Hodge has played for the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and then turned coach for Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017 and then moved on to coach Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018. However, his contract was terminated as the KXIP failed to reach the top four.

“It is pretty brutal (for coaches) in this part of the world (IPL). If you do not make the finals here, you pretty much pack your bags and walk out the door,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Hodge as saying. Hodge, who has since parted ways with the franchise as has team mentor Virender Sehwag, continues to coach in the Caribbean Premier League with St. Lucia Stars.

Hodge terms that the culture is different in IPL from other leagues given the amount of money involved and stakes in the tournament. “Look, it’s pretty cut-throat here actually… I sort of said to the Kings XI Punjab (owners), ‘How do you define success? What do you actually want to do?’ You haven’t won in ten years, so if I’m not to win next year, how am I defined?” Hodge was quoted as saying.

“I sort of said to them (Kings XI owners), ‘How many times do you want to win (the IPL) in a decade?’ And I thought three is realistic. It doesn’t matter whether you win this year, next year or the year after. You could win three in a row in the mid-pack. Just that if you’ve won three in a decade… If you look at CSK, they’ve won three. Mumbai Indians, they’ve won three. They’ve got a successful ten years,” Hodge further added.

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