SIMPLY WARNE

Over the years Shane Warne has memerised fans with his wizardry on the field and amused them with his antics off it. But the first edition of IPL (2008) had offered glimpses of his ability to transform a bunch of relative unknowns into a bunch of world beaters while guiding Rajasthan Royals to title win.

If the three matches (including that rain-hit tie against Mumbai Indians) are of any indication we can see the Aussie great doing some more wonders in the IPL 2. Yesterday, he asked Yusuf Pathan to open the bowling against Kolkata Knight Riders, and it could have been an unmitigated disaster, considering Kolkata have Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum as their openers. But the move paid off as the elder Pathan managed to shackle both the big-hitters with a couple of tidy overs.

Then the leggie hurled the ball to Kamran Khan, Wild Thing (What else Warne will name a rookie!), to bowl the final over, and the young left-arm paceman responded taking the wicket of Sourav Ganguly, ensuring that there was a Super Over.

Then came Warne's another masterstroke. He tossed the ball again to Kamran to bowl the Super Over, and the task of bowling against Gayle and McCullum could have bogged down even the experienced. But Warne goaded his prodigy into bowling a good Super Over that culminated in Royal's win.

So what make Warne a successful leader? A one word answer could be difficult since it is a combination of factors. The Aussie is quite animated on the field, giving vent to his elation and frustration quite frequently. He has to tell a word to each one of his players (forget how much of his English with that Australian twang players can understand), and he is right behind them at every juncture of the match.

The presence of such a strong, supportive leader can instill oodles of confidence in players, especially in youngsters. Munaf Patel has even showed the daring to be a translator while Warne spoke to the youngsters in the side!!!

On a serious note, Warne's display of leadership skills are not limited to big words and press statements. But the leggie, first to reach 700 Test wickets, still spins a web around the batsmen. English batsmen might be praying to Lord Almighty (God in Heaven in this instance!) not to give Warne ideas about an Ashes come back, not even for a little fun.

So when your leader leads by example, there is no way others can take a backward step. Imagine, there was some news about Royals being forced to buy Warne in the 2008 auction, and he has already repaid them with no less than a title.

IPL 2 is still in its infancy, and it remains to be seen how the Royals will fare in this edition. But one thing is sure, Warne will definitely pull out some rabbits out of his hat, and will probably turn them into doves.