Stripped of its commercial flavour (my friends who watch American sport tell me there are many more commercial intrusions there), it was an attempt to pause, take a backward step and analyse. In theory good, but it goes against the real character of T20 cricket which, at its heart, is a relentless gladiatorial sport. It is cerebral, as all sport is at various levels from chess to boxing, (not WWE because that is not sport!) but its real appeal lies in instinct and the backing of instinct in a short time frame. T20 values people who think on their feet, it rewards initiative as different from the equally enticing Test match format where patience is a virtue, where a storm is allowed to pass and you have time to pick up the debris and rebuild. A time-out in T20 is a bit like allowing a 5-over hitting time in a Test match, it’s a bit out of place.

A time-out also allowed many other theories to enter a captain's mind, many theories from many sources and I am not sure that is how it should be. For the hour and a half that an innings lasts, the captain must run the ship, take bold and yet calculated decisions, soar or sink with them. He must only have the six balls between an over and the one to follow to decide on the next course of action. It will require the captain to juggle many possibilities in a short period of time, to have his mind working furiously and yet project calm. T20 cricket tests a captain in many different ways than a Test match does — neither is necessarily the superior test for it requires a different skill. Is the 5000 metres a more skilful race than the 100 metres? Or does it demand different skills? Even in its infancy, T20 is showing that a good captain is an invaluable asset to possess.

And so as we slip past the halfway point of IPL 2, a frenetic but wonderfully organised event, it is interesting to see who is doing well and who isn’t, especially in the light of a call to have more overseas cricketers in the playing eleven.

It is a thought that has been quickly rejected and I believe rightly so. Eventually the IPL, even as it bestows riches on most, must remain an Indian tournament and four overseas players seems just right.

Focus on overseas players

Not surprisingly, indeed almost inevitably, attention has focussed on the overseas players, and that is why I looked at the latest MVP rankings on rediff.com with more than usual interest.

Of the top 30 players, irrespective of their price tag, 15 are Indian. It could be argued that it is no big deal given that 15 overseas players make the cut out of, for ease of argument, 32 that can be used and that the the 15 Indians who qualify do so from a much larger universe. But remember we are looking at the best among overseas players and so supporters of Indian cricket should be quite happy to see 15 players there. It is interesting as well that 10 of those (Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj, RP Singh, Ojha, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Jadeja in that order) make the Indian T20 world cup team. The five not in the Indian team are Tendulkar, Kumble, Nayar, Karthik and Dravid, a big vote for the seniors. Of these Karthik should be disappointed at losing out and Nayar couldn't be far away from making it. But I wonder if it should be a matter of some concern that five players who will almost inevitably make it to the first eleven seem to be struggling a bit (Sehwag, Gambhir, Harbhajan, Ishant and Zaheer!).

That world cup should be a magnificent spectacle only maybe a touch short, if anything at all, on the heartwarming moments that a Tyagi, a Suman, an Ojha or a Jakati provide. It is these young players who add the little something to an event!