The Concept Called Shane Warne

The world has always idealized its leaders. History bears witness to the worship of men like Alexander, Julius Caesar, Mao, Gandhi, Castro etc. These men have made a mark in the world by leading their people with example.

Our world of sport is no different; every now and then the world applauds exceptional leadership. All the teams at some point in their history boast of one such leader.  Cricket in particular has been blessed through time with great leaders (read captains).

From the very beginning of modern cricket, that can be traced to world cup 1975 or to the World Series in Australia, the role of the captain in cricket has been essential. It would be fair to say that the captain’s role in Cricket is more profound than any other sport.

In the new found love of cricket and cricket lovers, the IPL, one man has exceeded all known barriers for a captain. He has scripted the fairy tale making champions out of ordinary. And when the media has poured it’s love on him, he has humbly diverted the generosity to his teammates, and rightly so.

By now it’s a fact that the ACB’s loss is IPL’s gain. For if there was any frontier left unconquered by Shane Warne it was captaincy. When captaincy came floating on his head, Warne showed his class and that, too, in style.

Though this season is not as planned for the defending champions, but in their captain the team finds a lot of confidence and determination. It's not just the results that have got praise for Warne, there is something about him that makes him stand out among the rest in inspirational leadership. For the younger players, a simple pat on the back or “thumbs up” makes a world of difference, they start believing in themselves and perform at their very best.

He has an eye for talent, we know that, but what is more amazing is the way that he nurtures the talent. Take Kamran Khan for example. It took Warne three balls to tell the management, “That’s the boy I am looking for,” and we have in front of us a promising young man ready to bowl his heart out.

Captaincy is a very “gut” thing, and Shane Warne trusts his gut, and I dare say he sticks to it. During that intense “super over” against the Knight Riders, he could have kept the ball with himself and no body would have debated the decision. Instead he went with the rookie from Azamgarh, and Kamran did not let his captain down. It’s situations like these that make the younger players feel at home.

Even during that “mini match” Warne showed class at captaincy, he had two fielders at point and just backward point to make Chris Gayle think differently, which off course he did. But in the end, it was Warne’s thought and Yusuf Pathan’s powerful hitting that made the headlines.

Sticking with Yusuf Pathan, the revelation that he has been has got to attributed somewhere to Shane Warne. In my memory the images of Pathan doing "a Shahid Afridi," trying to clear the fence each ball by a mile and holding out in the deep are still fresh. But in the IPL, Mr. Warne seems to have told him to catch a breath and gather strength between the strikes.

Then there is Graeme Smith, far a in chair captain to follow someone’s lead is slightly difficult, but in his case maybe it is maturity overpowering ego.

It is a difficult season for the Royal’s, the standings are in complete compliance.  But games like the one yesterday show signs of good thing to come.

I am not a one team man in the IPL, with the obvious soft corner for Mumbai Indians because of Sachin. But what is good to see is seeing talent being nurtured under greats like Warne. And if the likes of Pathan, Asnodkar, Jadeja,  and Kamran make it big, we would know who to thank.

As some one who has always loved to see Shane Warne in action, be it his magic with the ball or the reactions on being torn apart, it is great to see another face of the legend. But in my opinion Warne is not a just legend, he is  a concept, an idea, and maybe the reason why he goes on amazing us is because; “Ideas cannot be killed!!”

Vive le cricket!!!