Head coach Mahela Jayawardena said keeping everyone engaged and encouraging each member of the team to contribute in whatever way possible has been one of the reasons behind Mumbai Indians' (MI) amazing success in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Rohit Sharma-led side became the most successful franchise in the history of the league last year by winning its fourth IPL trophy.
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"We try to make everybody involved in the processes," ESPNcricinfo quoted Jayawardena as saying. "The thing with Mumbai is that a lot of guys have a lot of experience. There are very few young guys - about three or four - but those guys also have played a lot of first-class cricket and are mature players."
"So you try and encourage everyone to contribute. It's always good for the captain to get ideas, and at the end of the day it's he who has to make the call, but the more ideas he gets (from others), it influences his thought process."
Two of those four titles have come since Mahela has taken over as the team's coach. The former Sri Lankan captain believes in empowering players and doesn't let his ego come in the way of his job.
"It hasn't happened. I'm very honest with whatever I do. We can have brutally honest conversations. Nothing is personal with me."
"You just need to cultivate that mutual respect. If the transparency is there and there are no agendas, the players understand that," he said.
"I also back the players to the hilt, whether as a captain or a coach. I'm always on the players' side."
Talking about egos, in a team full of stars like MI, that could be a hurdle. However, Jayawardena thinks there is "nothing harmful" in players wanting things to happen a certain way, as long as the collective will is to try and win games for the team.
"It's good to have that. It's nothing harmful," he said. "It's about identifying and making sure that they thrive. Everyone has got to this level because they are good, right? So you try and get them to prove that. That's all you need to do."
"It's about treating everyone professionally, and about treating everyone with respect. It is a team culture that you create," Jayawardena added. "Once you create that culture, it's hard for an individual to go beyond that."
"The rest of the players will bring that person down to the group level. If you haven't created that team environment, then you can have a problem because there are no boundaries and people drift."
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
