India, March 26 -- Shane Warne was the ultimate showman. He was also the wiliest, canniest captain never to lead Australia in a Test match.

Just how outstanding a leader he was became obvious during Season 1 of the Indian Premier League when he masterminded a spectacular coup by the most underwhelming of the eight franchises. No one had given Rajasthan Royals a ghost of a chance of battling for even mid-table honours, given their reluctance to loosen their purse strings and the presence of a plethora of unknown, untested Indian players.

And yet, Warne somehow got the parts to lift themselves and conjure a gathering whole that swept all before it. He roused the Goan Cannon (Swapnil Asnodkar) and the Rockstar (Ravindra Jadeja) in 2008, an...