The art of captaincy showcased

By Algenes Edmund Dantes, Australia

This year the IPL has showcased nine captains, and some stand-in leaders, of vastly contrasting fortunes. Being a good leader essentially means being able to make decisions and then enthuse your team to implement them. It involves clarity in thinking and focus on the task at hand, an ability to anticipate problems, delegate duties effectively and communicate well. It can also mean motivating others and taking a hands-on role in difficult situations.

After a tough exclusion process, we arrive at these four captains, stand-outs who have excelled in the art of captaincy so far in this IPL. Gautam Gambhir has emerged with gladiator like valour for Kolkata Knight Riders. He has led from the front, with five half-centuries and aggressive captaincy. Maturing as a leader, his days as a full time India captain might not be far off.

He was not flustered by his team’s defeats in their opening two matches and his first ball duck early in the tournament, batting at No. 3. He just promoted himself to his natural batting position, and scored those half-centuries to inspire his team to the top of the points table. Shrewd handling of Manvinder Bisla’s batting position, respect to the greatest allrounder of our generation in Kallis, rotating ten Doeschate and Sakib Al Hasan, and allowing Sunil Narine to operate with freedom have been his hallmarks. The psychological high is with Knight Riders, and only one other team has had such an effective captain.

Virender Sehwag’s form for Delhi Daredevils has matched Gambhir, and he has claimed the record for the most consecutive half-centuries in Twenty20 cricket, having scored his five in succession with a superior strike rate. He has been blessed with an abundance of batting riches, in Kevin Pietersen, Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner. Like Gambhir, he has rotated Irfan Pathan, Pawan Negi and Naman Ojha, and has brought out the best in them.

His period of maturation from a great player to captain took longer than Gambhir. His batting appears uninhibited, probably because he has fall-back options in the team, just like those legendary innings in Test matches against Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04. This must also make him more imaginative and unrestricted in his rotation of bowlers. Daredevils sit in the upper limits of the points table, having won by heavy margins in most matches, indicating that in this star-studded mela, Shewag’s squad is more than the sum of its parts.

Flashback to 2004. An Australian Test side, having lost the batting and captaincy services of Ricky Ponting to injury, relied heavily upon the vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. After three Tests, Australia had won that series, their only series win in the last four decades in India. The irony for Kings XI Punjab, is that Adam Gilchrist has made way through injury, for another Australian to graduate from vice-captain to captain in flying colours.

David Hussey started with a defeat despite top-scoring against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had one of the most prolific scorers in the IPL in his team, and shrewdly placed Shaun Marsh at first drop, wicketkeeper Saini as opener, and himself at No. 4 for some of the games. The late arrival of Azhar Mahmood, with is economical wicket-taking spells has made a huge difference to the results. Piyush Chawla has improved, and is starting to take wickets, and he even had the confidence to hit a winning six under Hussey.

And last but not the least, there’s dada. Sourav Ganguly has not lost a bit of his touch as captain, proving that as a cricketer, you either have the gift of leadership or you don’t. India’s most loved cricket captain of this century, he has moulded an inexperienced side into a force to be reckoned with. The Sahara sponsorship controversy, the unfortunate illness to strike last season’s captain Yuvraj Singh, the bowling action problems of Marlon Samuels … none of these issues have hindered his innate skills as expert captain.

He is out to prove himself, and has made his fledging team believe in themselves. The magic moment of the tournament among all the captains to now would be his dismissal of Kevin Pietersen with his first ball, a moment that evoked memories from a decade ago, of India’s Natwest Series triumph at Lord’s.

Unfortunately, Pune have too few points on the board at this stage, in all likelihood, to take them to the next stage. But the memories of Ganguly will linger on. And if current form is any guide, the promise of a cricketing duel between the Indian grandmasters, Sehwag and Gambhir, in a game well worthy of the final, lies ahead.