A time-out also allowed many other theories to enter a captain's mind, many theories from many sources and I am not sure that is how it should be. For the hour and a half that an innings lasts, the captain must run the ship, take bold and yet calculated decisions, soar or sink with them. He must only have the six balls between an over and the one to follow to decide on the next course of action. It will require the captain to juggle many possibilities in a short period of time, to have his mind working furiously and yet project calm. T20 cricket tests a captain in many different ways than a Test match does — neither is necessarily the superior test for it requires a different skill. Is the 5000 metres a more skilful race than the 100 metres? Or does it demand different skills? Even in its infancy, T20 is showing that a good captain is an invaluable asset to possess.

And so as we slip past the halfway point of IPL 2, a frenetic but wonderfully organised event, it is interesting to see who is doing well and who isn’t, especially in the light of a call to have more overseas cricketers in the playing eleven.

It is a thought that has been quickly rejected and I believe rightly so. Eventually the IPL, even as it bestows riches on most, must remain an Indian tournament and four overseas players seems just right.

... contd.