Dambulla: Mark Taylor remains the one captain most admired by Rahul Dravid, who is just hours from starting as full-fledged Team India boss. Thus far, he had only been standing-in for Sourav Ganguly. Well, The Telegraph caught up with Taylor in Sydney, for a one-on-one on captaincy. He was, as usual, lucid while responding to the questions on Friday.

The following are excerpts

On being Dravid’s favourite captain

I’m flattered... I never thought I was a special captain... I’ve always admired Rahul the batsman and I’m confident he will do well in the ‘new’ role as well.

On whether he has watched Dravid lead in Sourav’s absence

In a couple of ODIs, yes... I can’t recall anything specific, but I expect Rahul to lead the way he bats ? attack and defend. He has a wonderful sense of timing... (After a pause) He doesn’t get flustered and, so, can grow into a very fine captain. Rahul has an even keel approach. Moreover, he’s an excellent fielder, able to set the standards.

On the ideal approach

Just what I said ? even keel. Some get carried away by the highs and lows. In fact, some even drag the team with them when they’re on a low. That’s not good for anybody.

On the qualities a captain must have

One has to be a keen student of the game... One should have the ability to lead from the front ? either as batsman or bowler and even on the field... Finally, one has to be both a fine communicator and listener.

On whether being full-fledged captain may affect Dravid’s batting

I hope not... I myself didn’t get many runs when I started captaining Australia and needed time to settle. Rahul has to get the balance right ? a captain has to give time to his team... Equally, he must give himself time.

On Sourav’s captaincy

He injected toughness, steel... I don’t know whether he’s going to be back as captain, but that’s his legacy... The Indians, for example, competed like never before on the last tour of Australia (2003-04)... Sourav, however, would go up-and-down... His captaincy didn’t have that even keel element.

On whether he favours Sourav getting back the captaincy

I would give Rahul a longer run... The toughness is there and, now, it’s a question of moving forward... I’m not saying there has to be a shelf life for captains, but Sourav has had his innings.

On the No.1 captain of the present times

(Laughs) That’s tough... I would pick Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming... Fleming has been highly rated for quite some years... Ponting does have an excellent team, yet has done good things under pressure... It’s an achievement that he got everybody to focus on cricket despite the Shane Warne drugs scandal in the lead-up to the 2003 World Cup... And, we won yet again.

On the captain(s) he learnt from

I grew up idolising Ian Chappell... Later, I learnt from my first grade captain in Sydney, the Northern Districts’ Ross Turner... When captain myself, I was impressed by Mohammed Azharuddin’s fields for spinners... I liked grabbing bits of information from those around me.

Finally, on how captains should handle pressure

By remembering cricket is a sport and not a matter of life and death... Sure, one has to compete to the best of one’s ability, but we don’t live and die for cricket. This can be easier said than done, yet it’s important to embrace this philosophy. I know nobody wants to be a loser, but there’s more to life than battling over the 20-plus yards... Indeed, I myself never took captaincy too seriously.

Note: Taylor won 26 of his 50 Tests as captain, losing only 13. In ODIs, he won 36 out of 67, losing 30.