John Buchanan's Multiple Captain Theory

John Buchanan- a name unheard of in the cricketing circles outside Australia came to prominence as coach of an Australian team in the late 90's that had taken cricket altogether to a different level. He defied convention, critics and all cricketing pundits to prove his masterclass as a coach without ever playing Test Cricket.Like every great thinking mind, Buchanan is unorthodox. His maverick methods have been met with positive as well as negative criticism. Master spinner Shane Warne was dismissive about his role in the team while his captain Ricky Ponting credits him as being one of the important reasons why Australia was able to complete a hat trick of World cup wins.
For a man who has had hardly anything left on the international stage to achieve,he aptly bowed out of International retirement on a grand scale . But with the advent of the Indian Premier League, the concepts and innovations in the game of cricket have reached stratospheric proportions. The Knights from Kolkata acted smartly and caught hold of the most prized fish in the world of coaching. Buchanan had led the knights to a creditable finish at the inaugural edition ,although things could have turned out much better .The 2009 IPL has already made waves till now- all because of non cricketing reasons and Buchanan hasn't been far from making the news makers page with his "Multiple Captain" theory. Perhaps it was only apt that a man who has written a book entitled "If Better Is Possible" to come out with a never before seen idea such as this. He started his book quoting Henry Kissinger, "take people where they have never been before".Now he has taken all of us to where no one ever in the history of the sport has ever been.
It was quite natural that his idea was met with severe criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity and the cricket frenzy public of India. What added to the turmoil was that he had almost taken head on with the captain of the team - Sourav Ganguly, the heart and soul of the Knights. For a man who is revered perhaps more revered than Goddess Durga in his homeland, Mr. Buchanan had to be ready with his weapons to confront the consequences. He supported his theory stating that multiple captains would ease the burden on one player as the respective captains would look into the different aspects of the game which is very essential in a format so unpredictable as T-20.It is true that the minutiae of each aspect would be addressed if we have a specialist for that role but the very essence of a team would obviously be disintegrated. History is replete with glorious instances that 11 great players do not make a great team. Former Cricket great Ian Chappel has rubbished this idea saying that every team looks up to its captain in times of crisis. A team of 4 captains would suggest vulnerability in the mental framework of a team as no individual would be completely responsible for the outcome. Shane Warne was instrumental in single handedly taking the Royals to victory in the inaugural season of the IPL. It was so evident that a man entrusted with the responsibility could make the team revolve around him. And what is more surprising is that when you have a natural leader in Sourav Ganguly, there actually seems no logic to disturb the mindset of a settled team. If given a chance anyone would want to lead a side and if you have multiple captains putting in their ideas at crucial junctures in a T-20 match, nothing but chaos will unfold. However flashy and innovative the game might become, team spirit is the most important thing for a team to succeed. And a team whose leader is unstable is bound to crumble at some stage. The theory might be tested at a lower level but implementing it successfully in one the biggest stages in world cricket successfully seems dicey. In a tournament so short and fast as the IPL, even a single match might turn out to be the difference between a knock out spot and elimination. As such if the idea falters at an important stage, the team morale is bound to go haywire. South African coach Mickey Arthur disliked the idea saying "It has to be one leader always .I favour the one-captain situation because everybody in the team is clear about who is in charge at all times".
Teams like Australia and India have had different Test and one-day captains, but not more than one skipper in a match in any form of the game. But what Mr. Buchanan is plotting can have extreme effects- both positive and negative. Also, we should not be rigidly harsh on Mr. Buchanan as his theory might yield positive results . But what goes against him is the platform on which he has tried testing his idea. Kolkata which has had a hell lot of sufferings meted out to its favourite son, could not withstand anything more. It had to react. Moreover when you have arguably India's greatest ever captain leading you, such ideas are bound to bring in detractors .As King Khan had said in one of his memorable dialogues in Chak de India" Har team ka sirf ek Gunda hota hain. Aur is team ka Gunda hoon main", Mr Buchanan is part of a team which has three Gundas" Ganguly, Shahrukh and Buchanan". No one would give his place. We hope the knights continue to rule whoever the Gunda is and bring a smile to the millions in the city of joy.