Indian cricketer and captain of IPL’s Delhi Daredevils team Virender Sehwag (L) poses with Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar (2L) ,teammates and Pakistani cricketers Shoaib Malik (2-R) and Mohammad Asif (R) during a press meet in New Delhi on March 31, 2008. The IPL (India premiere leaugue) -brainchild of the Board of Contol for Cricket in India (BCCI) featuring eight franchised city-based teams drawn from a star cast of cricket’s top players, will be held over 44 days in 12 Indian cities from April 18. (Photo credit MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)
Delhi Capitals have had some fine players over the years. However, they have let go of many without giving them a long rope. Some stalwarts of the game like Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers, Andre Russell, Yuvraj Singh, and many more have played for the Indian Premier League franchise but were released after a brief period.
Formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, the franchise from Northern India, had India’s opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in their ranks when the IPL got underway. Many other star players also plied their trade for this franchise. Back in 2008, in the first season, DD signed Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar as the face of the team. Amrit Mathur, the former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) General Manager, recently revealed in his autobiography – ‘Pitchside: My Life in Indian Cricket’ how Akshay saved DD from incurring substantial losses by cancelling a lucrative three-year contract he had signed with the franchise.
“Akshay signed a three-year deal with Delhi Daredevils to shoot promotional films, attend meet and greet events and make appearances at corporate events. Apart from the Kotla act (he performed daring stunts), nothing much happened because DD didn’t know how to leverage him. At the end of the season, during elaborate post-mortem held against backdrop of serious financial losses, DD decided to cancel or renegotiate the contract,” said Mathur, who was also DD’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) at one point in 2009, as quoted in his book.
“Akshay’s contract provided no exit; on the contrary, it gave him solid guarantees for a period of three years. DD’s lawyers approached Akshay’s staff, wanting to revisit the contract, but they made no headway. The (legally correct) response from his side was that contract didn’t factor in early termination and it has run its course with full monetary compensation.”
‘If it’s not working, let’s close it’ – A generous Akshay Kumar told Amrit Mathur
Delhi Daredevils management gave Mathur the responsibility to explain their financial issues to Akshay Kumar and try to come to a solution. The former manager of the Indian team met the iconic actor and told him about the conundrum. To Mathur’s astonishment, Akshay decided to cancel the contract without any hesitation.
“After the shot, we returned to his vanity van and I, very hesitantly, explained the reason for my visit and outlined DD’s financial troubles. No problem ji, he (Akshay) said in a sympathetic manner. If it’s not working, let’s close it.’ I thought I hadn’t heard him right,” Mathur wrote.
“Seeing my confused look, he (Akshay) clarified slowly, ‘Isko khatam kar dete hain (let us end this)’. When I mumbled about the stringent contract clauses, he reassured me, ‘Koi baat nahi, main lawyer ko bol dunga (No problem, I will tell the lawyer),” Mathur concluded.
This was certainly a great gesture from the renowned actor and shows why he is one of the most loved personalities in the country.