The DLF IPL 2009 saw two captains who are brilliant, supremely talented players but proved to be rather unfortunate in the captaincy stakes. Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen are both capable of the most incredible individual performances but the weight of expectation that captaincy invariably places upon international cricket stars. Neither their individual scores nor their team’s fortunes seemed to prosper with them as captains. And Pietersen’s failure as captain was quickly spotted when his unlikely successor Anil Kumble took over to catapult the Bangalore Royals Challengers into the final.

Whatever their merits as coaches and players of their time, Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes’ efforts for the Mumbai Indians appeared to come to naught as strategies seemed not work and the fielding tips from the best in international cricket were of no avail. A foreign coach with fancy sounding theories is certainly no guarantee of success as was forcibly brought home by John Buchannan of the Kolkata Knight Riders: his theory of multiple captains remained just that, a theory and performances remained abysmal for most of the tournament.  

Not only is the coach an immensely important cog of a team but the dynamic that he shares with the captain is another facet of the team that is of vital importance. Mumbai Coach Ray Jennings seemed not to agree with English star player Pietersen but seemed to gel rather better with the stolid Kumble. There may or may not have a better meeting of the minds but the results were there for all to see as stragglers Bangalore powered ahead to the finals.

The understanding between Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist has now become the stuff of legends; the amount of discussion that the team’s transformation has merited in the cricket news. Clearly here were a captain and a coach working in tandem and understanding each other well enough for last in class to go to top of class; with Deccan Chargers becoming the IPL Champs this year.

A meeting of minds between captain and coach will always be a desirable and this IPL it has shown to be an effective match winner. John Buchannan and his unlikely theories translated into poor performances and the team was an example of the effect that poor interpersonal skills has on the functioning and the morale of a team. It was an almost imperceptible gelling; a meeting of minds that has worked for teams this year.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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