CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
Unlike leaders in several other sports, the individual who
is in charge of a cricket team is confronted with the task
of walking the talk, of practising what he preaches. This
unique feature of cricket hasn’t prevented the post of the
captain being the most sought-after in the sport. Every
cricketer worth his salt aspires to be the captain. He who
claims not to have had any captaincy ambitions at any
stage of his career is in most cases, a liar.
The game of cricket has produced some outstanding
leaders; men who with their flair for tactics and manmanagement have guided their team to glory.
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
There is much more to captaincy than merely finalizing
the playing XI before a match, accompanying the
opposing captain for the toss and setting the field and
rotating the bowlers after the umpire calls ‘Play!”
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
An apt definition of a ‘Captain’ would be; A person who
acts as a bridge by helping his team to cross over to
achieve a particular objective, and then ‘collapses
joyfully’.
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
What are the attributes that a captain ideally ought to possess? Here are
some:
The four Cs: He should be calm, composed,
congenial, and an effective communicator.
Sourav Ganguly (centre) - An
excellent communicator
Equator: He should be an equator of egos. A cricket
team may comprise some all-time greats and others who
may not be as talented. A captain should not discriminate
between his players. He should accord equal treatment to
everyone. Mike Brearley, who captained a star-studded
English team in the late 70s and early 80s, was an
excellent ‘ego-equator’.
The two Is – He should be intuitive and imaginative, and
open to thinking out of the box. He should be prepared to
face the consequences if the risks that he takes do not work
for his side.
Rahul Dravid (left) Intuitive and
Imaginative
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
Well-rounded personality – He should have thorough knowledge of
pitches, rules of the game and cricketing etiquette.
Love-all – He should love himself. This will enable him to ‘love’ his
teammates. If there is no love within him, how will he able to love others?
Two-way faith – He should always
believe in his team. His team will in turn
believe in him. Unless people trust you,
they won’t follow you or your
instructions.
Ricky Ponting (hoisted on his
teammates' shoulders) Believes in his team, and they
in turn believe in him.
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
Captain by consensus – A dictator can rule, but cannot reign. Even
Imran Khan, who was considered by many as a dictatorial captain, relied a
lot on senior players like Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar for advice. A
captain ought to create a group of masterminds who will assist him in
decision-making.
Away, but not inaccessible – He should maintain a distance from the
players. However, he should always be accessible. The players should not be
scared to approach him for advice.
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CAPTAINCY
By Ashok Mankad
The art of ‘ignorance’ – He should be able to ignore mistakes made on the
field, be it a dropped catch by a fielder or a silly shot by a batsman. A captain
who is overtly critical of his players may demoralize them even further. A
player who has erred should be exhorted to keep fighting. Invariably, he will
try twice as hard to make up for his mistake. Mistakes should not be
condoned completely, but a quiet word with the concerned player in the
dressing-room can be far more effective than shouting at him in public.
Not for me, but for the team – He
should silently convey to the players that
they are performing not for him, but for
the team.
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Inzamam-ul-Haq (right) - Away, but
accessible.