I was about 10, when I walked into the ACA-VDCA ground at Visakhapatnam — it was my first time watching cricket live at a stadium, and the stadium’s first time hosting international cricket. I sat there, waiting for my idol, Sourav Ganguly, to take on Pakistan in the second ODI in the series. But I discovered adoration I’d never seen before for a man who was just breaking through – Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The pitch was new, we had lost Tendulkar’s wicket early, but no matter how the conditions around him shifted, Dhoni was unfazed. Tucking his locks behind his ear, he tore through Pakistan’s bowling. He scored his first-ever ODI century, 148 runs, in that innings.
But what stood out for the younger version of me was how Dhoni harnessed the power of adaptability. There’s a commonly held belief that every sportsperson has a superpower. For Rahul Dravid, it was his technique, for Virendra Sehwag it was his fearlessness, for Virat Kohli it was his athleticism, and for Dhoni, it was his chameleon-like ability to transform himself into a player that the situation needed.
I felt a rush when I watched Dhoni bat that day. And every time he did ever since.
A few weeks ago, I felt that same rush all over again. Unfortunately, there was no Dhoni in sight.
Walking to the crease
After weeks of planning, we were ready to host the first-ever SaaSBoomi Premier League (SPL) in Chennai. We had registered teams, scheduled matches, booked the venue — everything was going according to the plan when, the night before the big day, the skies burst open. The rain ruined any chances of playing in the open. But Arvind from SuperOps jumped into action.
Messages flew out to the group and, overnight, we were able to find an indoor arena, request the teams to travel 55 kilometers out to the changed venue, and draw up a new schedule. The next morning, it was as if this had been the plan all along.
There it was. The incredible power of adaptability.
Why SPL?
Let me rewind and set a bit of context for the SaaSBoomi Premier League. We take sports seriously in this community. We have had the SaaSBoomi Badminton League for three years now. Given India’s — and SaaS founders’ — love for cricket, it was only natural to look at doing something similar for everyone’s favorite sport.
Many of us don’t need a reason to play cricket. Cricket is reason enough. But the fact is, there are good reasons why SaaSBoomi chose to launch a cricket league. There is only so much bonding that can happen in a dimly lit bar over food, drinks, and bad music. It starts to get repetitive.
Meeting for sports gives members a new way to relate to each other. It shows you the hidden talent of people you have known or are getting to know, it lets you strategize and compete in a relaxed setting, and — most of all — it allows you to return to work feeling energized.
There were already SaaS cricket teams across cities, they just needed a little nudge to sign up and play with a larger community. We had initially envisioned the SPL as a pan-India tournament, but logistical hurdles meant we decided to scale back to eight teams in the first league and play in zones. We have opened with Chennai, and Bengaluru will follow soon.
Back to the game
SPL’s first edition saw 8-over games. Two teams had to drop out because of the rain (and they were missed!) but six teams with 6 players each competed in the day-long battle to the finals. We split the arena into two parts to ensure we could play more matches at once and complete them in time.
For the semi-final and finals, we expanded the teams to include 8 players and used the full ground. Some games were done in minutes, some turned into nail-biters. Shout out to Adi from Team Freightify who scored two sixes almost every over! SuperOps consistently dominated the matches but were knocked out by Rocketlane who found their form midway and emerged as winners in the final against Freightify.
Lessons we learned
There were a few lessons for us. Have a backup venue, for one. For another, start earlier in the day so the action wraps up by evening.
The third, a personal learning experience, was to allow myself the opportunity to lead.
I am going to take you back a small walk down memory lane for this one. When Avinash approached me to get things rolling, it was like the captain had handed me the bat. I had to use everything I had learnt from Dhoni to organise and design this tournament.
Long ago, I used to be the opener for my college team. In one of the finals, we were chasing a small total but had lost a lot of wickets, so — taking a leaf out of Dhoni’s book — I would try to strike the ball through the over and take a single on the last ball to retain strike. We won that match, and that is how despite being an MBA student in a college where law students were the majority, I became known and remembered.
At SaaSBoomi too, the chance to organise the SPL has influenced my interactions. I am an introvert, I prefer to listen than to talk, but I promise you will hear from me more as we adapt and grow this beloved new format further. I am eager to build a memorable legacy together with other cricket-crazy members of our community.
Let the games begin!
Editor’s note: A huge shoutout to Patanjali Pahwa for articulating my thoughts and transforming me into a writer. As always, the best is yet to come.
