Punjab find merit in multiple-captaincy theory

Indian Premier League 2009

Shwe Wai

May 2, 2009

	Tom Moody: "The best thing for us is that our seniors - Yuvraj, Mahela and Sangakkara - get along really well with each other and have no egos in working together."

When Kings XI Punjab clinched their first win in their third game, Yuvraj Singh walked out to the post-match ceremony and said, "Thank god, no rain!" Their first two games were affected by weather and they lost both. Nothing seemed to be going right for the team. The bowling didn't look potent, the batting seemed to depend too much on Yuvraj Singh and they were hit by injuries to key players - Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Shaun Marsh, James Hopes and Jerome Taylor. Their latest signing, Yusuf Abdulla, was struggling at this level and Irfan Pathan, no longer a regular in the India line-up, was the strike bowler.

In the background, the think-tank was working furiously to swing things around. Coach Tom Moody asked his team to forget the first two games - "they don't count" - and concentrated on assigning individual roles. Yuvraj Singh, the captain, harped on a similar theme: "Boys, forget the results, even in the next few matches. All we need to do is play with intensity, high energy and get off the park with our heads held high. Let's just go and have fun out there."