From the iSport IPL Paddock, iSporter Akshay Iyer believes that the Rajasthan Royals are a leading outfit much due to their captain – the multi-talented Aussie spin legend Shane Warne.
Ever since Shane Warne bowled the Ball of the Century that dismissed a bewildered Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in the 1993 Ashes series, the legendary Australian leg spinner has grabbed headlines for his exploits on and off the field.
The controversies aside, Warne single-handedly revived the art of leg spin when it looked to be heading towards an untimely cricketing death, for the reason as an art it is the toughest of bowling styles to master. Another important change that Warne brought to international cricket was that with his success, spinners were once again considered to be important to an international team’s success. This is to be taken in context of the fact that fast bowlers had dominated the game for at least 15-18 years before Warne had made his international debut.
Warne also had a complete bag of tricks up his sleeve and added new deliveries to his arsenal throughout his career as he made the lives of opposition batsmen a complete nightmare. In fact, former South African batsman Daryl Cullinan, who was one of Warne’s bunnies, is said to have consulted a therapist to overcome the psychological hold that the Australian tweaker had over him.
For all the success that Warne achieved at the international level – 1,001 wickets (708 in Tests + 293 in one-day internationals), one of his main regrets was not captaining Australia. Though he led Australia in 11 ODIs, his disciplinary breaches, run-ins with the establishment and off-field misdemeanours meant the opportunity to be named regular captain of Australia would be an honour that would elude Warne.
However, Warne proved his leadership credentials with English county Hampshire and Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals. When Warne joined Hampshire in 2000, the county was a struggling outfit, but when the Aussie legend retired from first-class cricket in 2008, the county had been transformed into one of England’s leading domestic teams. As Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman told The Times on Warne’s first-class retirement: “When Shane came to us in 2000 Hampshire were a sleepy provincial club. Now we are among the leading sides in the country and much of that is down to Shane.”
Leaders have to be respected and not demand to be respected, and on this front Warne has come out with flying colours. In his leadership roles, he has mentored youngsters and supported the experienced campaigners as he has lent a patient ear at all times. Warne’s leadership and motivational qualities have shaped the county and international careers of current Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascrenhas, and former England off-spinner Shaun Udal, who was with Hampshire from 1989 to 2007. Michael Carberry, who made his international debut for England in the ongoing Test match against Bangladesh in Chittagong, has said Warne saved his career, adding the spin legend convinced him he had a future when he was on the verge of quitting.
As a person and cricketer, Warne is smart, attacking and passionate; and he brings the same traits on to his captaincy. His leadership was one of the main reasons for the Rajasthan Royals winning the first edition of the IPL. The Royals were seen as the weakest team in IPL-1, and when they were thrashed by Delhi Daredevils in their first match of that tournament, the knives were drawn. The franchise from Rajasthan, however, turned things around winning 13 of their next 15 matches, including the final against Chennai Super Kings.
Most of the credit for that turnaround should go to Warne, who ensured that every member of the squad knew his role apart from spending one-on-time with the youngsters in the team to make sure they were not overawed by any situation. Though he was hampered by the language barrier, Warne communicated his message across effectively. Warne also used the resources that he had at his disposal brilliantly and always had praise for his players.
Indian cricketers like Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel and Kamran Khan amongst others have all been beneficiaries of the Warne brand of leadership. In fact, Yusuf and Munaf have always excelled under Warne’s captaincy.
Warne, who is in his 41st year, still retains the same enthusiasm and passion that he had the game while playing international cricket, and he will have to be at the top of his game (as captain, coach and player), if the Royals are to repeat their dream run of IPL-1. There may be concerns over Warne’s match fitness, but once the action kicks off the magician from Australia is bound to make the opposition dance to his tunes as he leads the Rajasthan Royals to victory.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
