An embarrassing end for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL

When you employ someone you expect results from him, and here we are talking about millions. If after paying million dollars to dravid, kallis et, mallya has every right to sack them as they aren't even playing competently let alone producing results. The biggest mistake mallya made was making dravid the captain, he maybe a gentleman but he's no captain material and a utter misfit for 20-20's and now one-days. If he had the right captain, say dhoni or even some foreigner (aka shane warne), I have no doubt the team selection would have been much better automatically without interference of Mallya himself.

Rahul Dravid, J Kallis,Jaffer & Anil Kumble are useless players for 20-20 Game

I guess Dravid's fortunes are not so good from past one year. Otherwise, he would not resign from national team captaincy. And now, for his bad luck, BRC are losing every close match they encounter. Wish him all the best in future games.

Money is not every thing, I wonder how Mallya manages big organisation, where ever you employ for big or small money, you need to show encourgement and respect to people, not come out shouting in public...In corporate language it should be sorted out with the team in a close door...i feel sad for dravid who is one of the best players of cricket, he shouldn't be let down for the contributions he has made to the world of cricket.

Mallya has every right to sack Dravid. Instead he should but Warne as Captain and see the results unfold. It would be a perfect match for the two. Warne a Party boy with Mallya a Party prince.

Kallis and Dravid are quality players but there nothing special in the 50 over game why would they be anygood at 20/20 they would have to pay me to play in my team

First off all, Mallya bought this team on his own. Dravid never asked to be the icon player or the captain. So why is Mallya pinning the whole thing on him? Mallya is continuing to fan the flames rather than help the team. Buying American cheerleaders and Katrina Kaif is not how you show support to the team. He and his officials need to stop ridiculing Dravid like this. It's a game for pete's sake. It's not some fool-proof investment. Anything can happen in cricket and Mallya should have been aware of this. People who take it upon themselves to buy a team should know the risks involved and ought be genuine supporters of the game not just use it as an advertising outlet. Second, why is everyone saying Dravid wouldn't quit? He actually offered to quit before Mallya's outburst and at that time Mallya and his official chided him that it would be negative publicity for Mallya. Dravid resigned from captaincy on his own. He is open to batting anywhere in the batting order for his team. He is selfless and would be willing to resign, but everyone will just say Dravid is running away from responsibility and abandoning his team. Nobody thinks about that. Money is definitely not what is keeping him from leaving. He has a young son to take care off and life outside of cricket. And lastly, everyone is forgetting the real reason why RC have been losing. It is not so much the matter of a "test" team but the simple fact that no local players have made any mark in IPL. Previously-unknown talents like Abhishek Nayar, Ashok Dinda, Trivedi, Saha, Asnodkar have shown they are as good as a foreign investment in their respective teams. Meanwhile in RC, Bharat Chipli, Vinay Kumar, J Arunkumar, B Akhil, Devraj Patel have all done nothing in the matches they've played. Rather than contributing, they have been involved in many needless runouts which just about cost us the match in the end. Running between the wickets is something that is taught at the root level, not something Dravid should be teaching them at this stage. No is mentioning them. They're young and IPL is essentially about them coming to the fore. This only shows that after Dravid and Uthappa, nobody from Karnataka will be making the Indian team for some years. They have been the biggest letdown and this is also what is ailing Deccan Chargers as well. Gilchrists and Misbahs can perform all they want but they need help from the youngsters. Only Dravid knows all of this bitter truths. People who have never played in a team sport ought to refrain from making comments about Dravid's commitment and intelligence. RCB needs to scout for better local talent rather than throwing Dravid out in the cold. Both SRK and Preity Zinta have come out and said what is happening to Dravid is unfortunate and that he deserves support from his own quarters. Ganguly and Yuvraj have also sympathised with Dravid. Mallya has no reason to wage a public battle against Dravid. He can speak to him in private. Dravid is a mentally-tough cricketer and thrives in crunch situation, but he and his team cannot be blamed for buckling under the immense pressure put forth by their owner.

I feel immensely sorry for Dravid because he of all people command more respect than what Mallya has given him. Mallya might be pained because he's invested quite a lot, but he can only blame himself. Those who look to blame others are cowards. Mallya, from the first defeat itself, has been breathing down Dravid's back; it's only now everything becoming more clear. Mallya makes himself to be some great tragic hero. I don't know what Mallya is trying to achieve by making such comments and then ending it by saying he hopes Dravid does his best with the team he has. It obviously has insulting undertones. Mallya may be known for his service and hospitality and will whisk Katrina Kaif to the match in his private jet, but he feels no need to extend any such kindness towards a selfless character like Dravid. It's quite magnimous on Dravid's part that he hasn't aired his views in public. He even accepts Mallya's ridiculing comments. In the midst of the controversies in IPL, it's so refreshing to see a person like Dravid maintaining a dignified silence. Now foreigners like Kallis, Boucher, Steyn know firsthand all the pressure Dravid has to deal with. It's things like this that determine your character and this episode has only increased many peoples's respect for Dravid. Mallya maybe you should learn from Bollywood. Preity Zinta has offered complete support to her team even during the Bhaji incident. SRK, too, said it would be an insult to a great player like Ganguly to go and ask questions about his form. I can guarentee both wouldn't have heaped such a humilation to Dravid had they been the owners of the team. These are tough times for Dravid, but I hope he knows that this will come to pass and he will always have the support of his fans. And that is of more value than anything from a cheap character like Mallya.

"The poor millionaire has blasted astronomic amounts to rope in the best facilities available." Okay, that right there has got be the most ridiculous comment ever. Poor millionaire??! Aw, poor baby. Lets see, before everything went up in smoke, Mallya lapped up the attention. No matter what the function or the photo-shoot, Mallya's portly frame would be there, providing stark contrast to the athletic physiques that surrounded him. He even drafted in cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins, missing no opportunity to be photographed with them. Because after all, when you rope in American cheerleaders and Katrina Kaif, it totally shows you are 300% supporting your team forever and always. And questioning respected cricket icon Dravid's intelligence, commitment and dedication is no biggie because Mallya is an avid sport enthusiast! Oooh, aren't we all? iHonestly, Mallya is not even a fan of the game; he's just using this as a means to sell his brands. He's got a cricket team, he's got an F1 team...it's like Pokemon to him, "you got to collect them all!" No other team owner has the gall and indecency to publicly villify their team in the middle of the league, but Mallya is the victim here, folks. He's really suffering right up there with the likes of Gandhi and the whole lot of AIDS victims, homeless, and suicidal farmers in India. Mallya's suffering really puts everything into perspective, huh? The nerve of that Rahul Dravid bloke ot allowing Mallya to have his say in selection! He's like some maniacal dictator tying Mallya's hands in a railroad track and laughing and curling his mustache from the sidelines as a train comes roaring in. Oh the scandal of it all! If only Mallya was physically stronger than that nearly-Khali Dravid guy or maybe had the clout and got Dhoni, Uthappa, and McCullum in the squad, but wait...Between them, though, Dhoni ($1.5 million), Uthappa ($800,000) and McCullum ($700,000) went for $3 million at the auction. Plus that gold-digging scum Dravid would get 15% more than Dhoni. This means that, with a cap of $5 million on franchise owners, the Challengers would have been left with less than $1 million to put together the rest of the squad with only 4 players in the bag. I guess with all those cheerleaders, your mind turns to goo and your math gets all fuzzy. We understand, you poor millionaire, you. (Please note I'm being sarcastic and am supporting Dravid in all of this hullabaloo.)

Dravid had no business using Mallya's franchise to ensure his friends got their retirement secured. Who the hell will pay for Jaffer's classic defensive strokes? Should Mallya have paid more attention to his signing , yes, but things happen and he is right that there is a corporate side to the game. Dravid has effectively diluted the UB brand image which now is a caricature for mockery. That costs dollars to fix and reimage and for this Dravid and his slow gooses should be fired.

After the way these people have been treated, would we be happy for our brothers to play on this team? I wouldn't be. (and I'm cross with mine at the moment). It's Mallya's team as much as it's Dravid's team. He is as responsible for its performance - if not more so - than the team captain. Over here we revere Grace Under Pressure - which Dravid is displaying.

What you said is right. Money is not everything in life. But in IPL, it is so. The very root or the skeleton of IPL is astronomic sums of money

Rahul Dravid is probably my all time favourite cricketer. He displays extremely powerful mental strength while everyone is against him, and he is the lone player on his team who is showing guts. What's this about he can't play twenty-twenty? He's a much better ODI or 20/20 player than Ganguly or Kallis. Did anyone here see his 75* off some 35 balls a few nights ago, when he hit six sixes? I think Mallya should really shut up instead of playing the blame game as soon as his team is losing - especially the plame game against an extremely well respected cricketer.

Mr Vijay Mallaya is a known sports lover & has done so much to encourage sports and will be credited for bringing Formula1 Racing to India. We are also happy that he sponsored the Banglore team and has personally selected Rahul & Anil among others. As is evident there was an element of luck in every game you play and Bangalore Royal Challengers despite doing there best under given circumstances they or the sponsor were consistently UNLUCKY. Only one team is set to WIN among the eight teams. Mallaya would do well if takes the game in a sportive manner and supports the team. This will have positive impact on the Captain & the Team.

I am an ardent Fan of Cricket and Dravid - infact the reason i watch cricket is becoz of Dravid. I would like Mallya to shut his big mouth and watch how a cover drive is played by a great player. Dravid is a captain with immense mental strength and power and he doesnt believe in mocking ppl in public but would rather shut ppls mouth with criticism. Everyone goes thru bad phase it doesnt mean that its the end of the world - well strugggle and hardwork makes ppl a successful

I dont understand what does media or Indian public want Dravid to do. He is a great player and I dont understand how people get coned by the rubbish written in media and judge on someones personality. Well i absolutely loved and enjoyed Dravids captiancy. Lets not forget its under his captaincy India won eight test matches under Dravid's captaincy, including a 1-0 triumph in a recent three-test series against England - the team's first test series win in England since 1986. Dravid's captaincy also broke the Indian team's lean run, with last year's test series victory in the West Indies its first test series triumph outside the subcontinent in two decades. I admire him as a cricketer who is selfless and doesnt boost his egoism. He is cool as a cucumber and an elegant stroke maker. We love you DRAVID AND PROUD TO HAVE YOU PLAY FOR INDIA. YOU're the BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO INDIAN CRICKET- YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!! SO I request our Indian Public to stop being judgemental and Media stop misleading Public.