Multiple captains will leave players confused: Arthur

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur was not at all amused with John Buchanan's idea of having more than one captain for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and felt such a move would only end up confusing team members.

"It has to be one leader always," Arthur said.

"I favour the one-captain situation because everybody in the team is clear about who is in charge at all times," said the Proteas coach who felt if a team had multiple captains it could leave players confused and disoriented, especially during a match.

"If you have more than one guy as leader, you don't know whom to turn to," he told 'cricinfo'.

Former World Cup winning Australian coach Buchanan raised quite a storm when he announced his decision to experiment with four captains for Kolkata Knight Riders this season in the IPL which he claims could change the approach to leadership in cricket.

Arthur, however, said communication between the coach and players is mandatory for this experiment to succeed. The 40-year-old also expressed his desire to speak to Buchanan to know about the concept.

"I really don't know what he is aiming at. But I know from experience that communication within a team is fundamental to its success, and that could be a problem when you actually implement this idea on the ground.

"The players need to know clearly who is in charge," Arthur said.

Former South Africa coach Ray Jennings, who was replaced by Arthur, thought Buchanan's idea to be interesting and might just work.

"He is a very experienced coach and he obviously has his own game plans," said Jennings, who is the coach of Bangalore Royal Challengers. "I respect him for that. It is an interesting idea and it is an idea that can work."