A Slippery Format Challenging Captains To Keep Their Feet

With established and familiar skippers in the mix, pre-established strategies — with minor tweaks — should remain the norm in IPL 12, which begins on March 23.

- R.Kaushik

Cricket is clearly the only team sport where the captain’s role begins, not ends, with the toss. That’s when he graduates from being a skipper to a leader.

There is no armband to indicate he is the first among equals, no (Capt.) at the back of his shirt that singles him out from the rest. But, and especially when a team is on the field, it’s not hard to figure out who the man in charge is.

He’s generally the one who is waving his arms around like a traffic policeman—which in a way he is, directing personnel to the exact spot where he and/or his bowler want him stationed. He is the one tasked with thinking on his feet, remembering and then altering carefully worked game-plans when situations so demand, swapping bowlers around, ensuring that his boys’ energy levels don’t drop, and that there is intent and enthusiasm in their body language and approach. Not without reason is a captainfined twice as much as any other member of the side in the event of a slow over-rate. It’s the establishment’s way of recognising that a team takes its cue from the skipper, that the man in charge is the one responsible not just for the outcome but also for the conduct of his 10 on-field mates and the four or five outside the park.

In football, say, or hockey, the captain merges into the background once play gets underway. He is just another player, because the pace and contours of both sport don’t necessarily call for strategic on-field decision-making. The tactical responsibilities rest with themanager or the coach. A cricket captain has nowhere to hide. Occasionally, he will receive a tip or two from some of his senior colleagues. From time to time, the coach will slip him some advice through a reserve player. But the buck stops with him. Which means, beyond a point, he is thinking not just for or about himself, but the entire squad, collectively and individually.