Cricket is unique in how it privileges the captain. Its duration and its susceptibility to changing conditions ensure it can’t be remote-controlled from outside. But Twenty20 short-circuits both these attributes, says S Ram Mahesh in the Sportstar.

A case may be made that the captain has therefore less of role in this version; only, the fact that it’s so fluid and sensitive to turns of flow (an over can prove irreversible) necessitates a different sort of captaincy. A leader of studied deliberation, of rigorous pre-match planning, or one given to elaborate set-ups isn’t out of place — for cricket, whatever its format, allows everyone space — but a captain who reacts intuitively and spontaneously often does better