The performance of Rajasthan since they were embarrassed by Delhi six days ago has been one of the tales of the tournament. While the other seven franchises all spent more than the $5m they were supposedly allowed at the Mumbai auction, Rajasthan forked out a relatively modest $3.6m. The franchise itself cost $67m, a good $40m less than Deccan Chargers, who have now lost three out of three. Rajasthan are punching above their weight, and a lot of the credit must go to Warne.

To see the man in action, both on and off the pitch, is to marvel at a passion that still burns incandescent. He is the Royals’ pied piper. The youngsters in his side unquestioningly play follow my leader, and even the team’s media manager, Anant Vyas, has taken to introducing press conferences by waxing lyrical about Warne’s latest deeds. He is taking wickets, scoring crucial runs and captaining with all his usual intuitiveness. Apparently, that quality can be difficult for the more analytical members of his teams, but there is only one thing that matters, and VVS’s leadership looked one-dimensional by comparison.

Whether the Royals continue to be one of the stories of the IPL is another matter. But right now, it is possible to apply a positive slant to Graeme Smith’s old taunt that Warne was a “frustrated captain” when he played under Ricky Ponting. Smith, Warne’s newest team-mate, was almost certainly right. What he might not have imagined was that one day he would be enjoying the fruits of Warne’s old-time frustrations at first hand.