Shane Warne and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala

Calcutta: The city-born Abhishek Jhunjhunwala is one of the many to be bowled over by his inspirational captain, Shane Warne.

Warne, who led Australia in 11 ODIs (just one loss), has been captaining the Rajasthan Royals from the very beginning of the IPL and his smart moves made the biggest difference, against the Deccan Chargers, on Monday night.

In fact, Warne’s leadership played a significant part in the Royals’ trophy-winning run in the IPL’s first edition — 2008.

Jhunjhunwala, 27, spoke to The Telegraph from Nagpur, on Tuesday afternoon, before the Royals’ departure for Jaipur.

The following are excerpts

On what’s special about Warne’s captaincy

A lot, really... The way Warne kept our spirits up after defeats in each of the first three matches was remarkable... In fact, our worst loss came in the game just before the one against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but Warne kept encouraging us to play with courage and freedom... That we should express ourselves... We did, against KKR, and halted our run of defeats... Whatever the situation, he wants us to enjoy our cricket and to keep smiling...

[Jhunjhunwala was the MoM in that game, which the Royals won by 34 runs.]

The way Warne goes about his job

Warne is very open to ideas... He invites suggestions, both off and on the field... He makes it a point to get the most out of the local cricketers, so to say... For example, he and I had lengthy chats before the KKR match and I was made to brief our bowlers on the line to bowl to particular batsmen... After all, I know the Bengal lot in the KKR team very well... At times, Warne has got upset, in the dressing room... He’s got annoyed... Usually, however, he’s calm and, even in losses, has counted the positives.

First interaction with Warne

At Lord’s last July, during the Royals-Middlesex game, when I wasn’t allowed to play by the BCCI... Because of the circumstances, our interaction then was quite limited... The past month has, of course, been great... A huge learning experience.

Top moves by Warne in IPL III...

Move No.1: Giving the first over to Yusuf Pathan in the match against KKR... Yusuf hadn’t done well with the bat, but Warne wanted him to feel important and gave him such a big responsibility... The move worked... Other teams, too, have begun opening the attack with spinners... He started a trend.

Move No.2: Using the experienced Morne Morkel in the penultimate over and giving the 20th to Siddharth Trivedi last (Monday) night... Turned out to be a masterstroke... Almost every other captain would’ve given that last over to Morkel.

Move No.3: Moves, actually... This is a general observation... Right through this IPL, Warne has been brilliant in the first six overs... He’s shuffled the bowlers’ pack like nobody else. Tactically, more often than not, he’s scored.

Defeating the Deccan Chargers from a losing position

(Laughs) We lived up to our motto — that we can win from any situation... Every time a wicket fell, Warne kept reminding us of that... We didn’t give up and got rewarded in a thrilling finish.

The celebrations

Whether we’ve won or we’ve been defeated, we attend the IPL party after every game... All teams don’t... We’ve never given the impression of being poor losers... Besides that official engagement, we do have our own sessions, in the form of team dinners or something else. The Royals are like a family, with an excellent team spirit.

Royals’ mood going ahead

Oh, we’re very confident of making the semi-finals, which is the first goal for all teams... It won’t be easy as many of the franchises are pretty much bunched together on the points table... Our next three matches are all at ‘home’, Jaipur, and we’ve never lost there... It’s a great record to hold, lifts the confidence, too.

Role being played by Jeremy Snape

Being the psychologist, he’s a key member of our support staff. He’s been helpful, telling us how to come out of tough situations. He helps out with strategy as well.

Biggest difference between T20 and the other forms

There’s far more time even in an ODI...In that format, a couple of maiden overs may not prove that costly, but in a T20 game, two dot balls could become so crucial... We batters have to maintain a strike rate in excess of 100, which isn’t easy... The intensity level in T20 matches is so high.

Finally, gains by sharing the dressing room with Warne

Today, I’m clearer in the mind... After frequently talking cricket with Warne, I know my game better now... He’s given me a role and made me understand the importance of executing that role... If I may add, Warne’s tips haven’t been technical, for he feels I’m technically sound... So, he has been focusing on the mental side, on how I should play in the big moments...