I V Subramaniam, Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer, Quantum Advisors recounts his most memorable World Cup moment, similarities between cricket and investing & more.
How do you rate India’s chances of winning
in this cricket World Cup?
50:50. New Zealand has had an equally good run and would be a tough competitor to beat in the finals. But we need to beat the Aussies in their own backyard to get there.
What are your plans to watch World Cup final and semi-finals?
If India reaches the final, then of course I will watch it either at my house with friends and family or at my friend’s house again with friends and family.
If India does not reach the final then I may just watch the final moments of the match, or catch the highlights.
For the semi-finals against Australia, we have organized a screening of the match in the office with a pizza lunch. An India match and an Italian lunch… exciting times!
Have you ever bunked school, college or office to watch India’s match? Any story which you would like to share?
I have not bunked school, college or office to watch any match where India was playing. However, if there was any match where I would have been tempted to bunk, it would have been the Kerry Packer series I think in 1985. However since the matches were played in Australia, it allowed me to watch the matches in the morning and then head to college. So no bunking.
The story I would like to share is of the finals in 1983.
In 1983, I did not expect India to reach the finals and was already booked to travel by train from Cochin to Chennai and then to Hyderabad. I could not cancel the tickets as it was difficult to book tickets during summer vacation in those days and I could not find any TV in the village near Cochin where I had gone to spend some time with family friends. So I took the train, and was pleasantly surprised the next day when I reached Chennai and found that India had won. I missed watching it in Hyderabad with my friends, some of whom out of tension of watching the match picked up smoking on that day and continued to smoke for many years later on!
Your favourite World Cup moment?
The 2003 India – Pakistan clash where Sachin Tendulkar got a bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar. The ball sailed into the stands over backward point and it was a massive Sixer. The other replay moment was the ball by Balwinder Singh Sandhu when he clean bowled Gordon Greenidge in 1983. Sandhu was a pace bowler and the ball almost spun as if a spin bowler had bowled. It took the batsman by surprise as he let the ball go, only to be bowled as it swung in.
Who is your favourite cricketer?
Kapil Dev.
What are the similarities between cricket and investing?
· You need a good pitch - meaning that there should be many stocks available for investment at attractive valuations.
· Fundamentals have to be strong – this is important both in cricket and in investing.
· Fund manager’s reaction to the turn of events has to be quick; similar traits are required by the fielder in cricket - quick response.
Which Indian player in the World Cup squad would make the best fund manager?
Dhoni. He is cool and takes calculated moves and willing to back his team members. The fund manager also needs to be cool and calculated and willing to back his investments through good and bad times.
What have you learned from cricket?
In cricket and in investments you need inputs and support from various players. So one needs to be humble and have lots of humility. A highly egoistic mind – who thinks that I am best – may not work well either in cricket or investments.
