Good Bye Chetan Sharma, Take Care

When I was in school, we did not have television at home. That was the era of the early eighties. I still remember going to my neighbor’s place at five in the morning to watch the test match being played against Australia. That was the degree of madness. Given the opportunity, I never used to miss even a single delivery. Like many of you, I was mad about cricket.

But, not anymore. The excesses of one-day, T-20, and IPL have ruined the charm of the game. Additionally, the commercialization of the sport has given rise to many vices. Gone are the days of spotless clean white clothes. Once upon a time, it was known as the Gentleman’s game.

A few days ago, Chetan Sharma, the Chairman of the selection committee, got trapped in a sting operation. This is a classic example of foot in mouth. The poor chap has to resign from the most coveted post. The game is over for him at least for a few years.

We, at Defensive Investments, are always curious to know how human beings behave and what is its impact on their life. We try to learn from the behavior of other people from all walks of life. Be it cricket, movies, business, or politics. It gives us a great opportunity to introspect ourselves and improve upon our limitations if any.

Like many other stories, this Chetan Sharma episode also has the following learnings for retail investors:-

1. This was not the first sting operation in history. Such sting operations have occurred in the past. More so, they took place even with a few cricketers as well. However, the exuberant Sharmaji forgot the history and got carried away. He did not bother to learn from others’ mistakes.

The behavior of the market keeps repeating itself cyclically. The bull phase is followed by the bear phase and so on. The market too gives investors ample opportunities to learn. However, as investors, we neglect past experiences and make the same mistakes again and again. The tendency to overlook mistakes can prove disastrous.

2. When you are holding the national post of responsibility and authority, you cannot be so complacent. You must know what is at stake. Shamaji has taken the biggest risk of his life by shooting his foot. When the stakes are so high, one has to be extremely careful and act with due caution.

“Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.”

At Defensive Investments, our sole focus is on evaluating risks and ensuring that investors’ hard-earned money is safe. We do not allow investors to get carried away with the flow.

If we can identify risks aptly, the returns will automatically follow. But if we indulge in taking excessive risks which we cannot endure, then someday or the other, the market will punish us ruthlessly.

3. Destiny was very kind to Mr. Chetan Sharma for making him the Chief Selector even when he was not the only deserving candidate. However, he managed to spoil it with his demeanor.

When everything seems to be going perfectly alright, just stay on course and let it roll. There is absolutely no need to do something foolish.

Investors tend to look at their portfolio frequently as if it is going to pay them additional returns. This tendency leads to the churning of the portfolio and then breaks the ongoing compounding process.

“You only have to do very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.”

4. The way Sharmaji boasted thinking he is off the record, shows how fragile his fundamentals must have been. By criticizing the system rather than correcting it, he has lost the complete trust and faith reposed in him by the BCCI.

Even when the ghost of Javed Miandad is still haunting him, Sharmaji completely forgot that whenever he will bowl a loose delivery, it will invariably be hit out of the ground for a huge six.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.”

That is the precise reason why we hold honesty, integrity, and trust as three paramount virtues in our life. That is why, we cherish the three true gentlemen of this game; namely Dravid, Dhoni, and Tendulkar. Dhoni and Tendulkar are the brand ambassadors of the mutual fund industry.

However, the saga doesn’t end here…

We sincerely hope and pray that Sharmaji has not flirted with his investments as he did with his career. Else, his retired life is going to be miserable.

Good Bye Sharmaji, Take Care!!!

(The quotations in bold above are of Warren Buffet and not of the author)