Pune Warriors India joined the IPL bandwagon last year and became the costliest team in the history of the tournament. They had some big buys in the last years’ auction and were looking like a very competitive team. But, as the tournament progressed the team from Pune struggled. Pune finished ninth in the ten team tournament and could only manage four wins out of the fourteen matches that they played.

This year Pune Warriors India saw some fresh controversy. Sahara India who owns the team had some disputes with the BCCI and at one point it was looking as if Pune won’t participate in the league. Pune did not attend this years’ auction and had some major problems with the organizers. Pune Warriors suffered another blow when their captain and star Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer. Yuvraj is undergoing a treatment and will miss the entire season.

But, all is settled now and the team which is in its second year is raring to roar. The Warriors have got some exciting talent in their side but overall they do not look as threatening compared to some other teams in the tournament.

Batting

International Players: The biggest name in the Pune batting line-up is of the Australian captain Michael Clarke. Clarke has come into the side as a replacement of Yuvraj Singh and a lot will depend on him. The Aussie batsman is coming into the tournament on the back of some tremendous innings in all formats of cricket. Clarke plays with absolute fineness and has a lot of time in his hands. Clarke will have to play well if Pune has to go the distance.

Jesse Ryder will open the innings for Pune Warriors. Ryder is an explosive batsman and can take the game away in the matter of few overs. The talented Kiwi if in good form is a treat to watch. Ryder will be looking to give the Pune team a quick start and he has all the shots in his armory to achieve that target.

Apart from these two dominant batsmen the Warriors also have a very talented all-rounder in Angelo Mathews. Mathews has been a consistent run-getter for his home team and is turning out to be a good finisher. He plays well in all the positions and can hit some lusty blows at the end of the innings. The Warriors also have the Aussie Callum Ferguson and the West Indian Marlon Samuels. Both these players are good in the middle of the innings and can come off very well at the end overs.

Along with them the Warriors have a number of batting all-rounders and all of them can play well. James Hopes, Luke Wright and Steve Smith are very much capable of playing a quick innings and bowl a few handy overs in-between.

Domestic Players: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly will captain this young team and will also open the innings for them. Ganguly has long left the international arena but is regularity in the domestic circuit. He has played some good innings for his local team and looks in good momentum coming into the tournament. Ganguly still has it in himself to dance down the track and hit any bowler out of the attack. With Yuvraj missing from the team, it will be up to this great batsman to rise to the occasion and take his team forward.

Warriors also have one of the most explosive batsmen of IPL in Robin Uthappa. Uthappa played some sensational innings during his tenure in the Bangalore team but failed to replicate his performance for the Warriors. Uthappa will be hoping to change that, if he comes good than the Warriors’ chances will be very bright. Manish Pandey has an IPL century to his name when he was playing for the Bangalore team. Pandey looks very organized and can play some real good shots. Pune will be keeping their fingers crossed for this young batsman to come good.

Bowling

International Players: Two South Africans will lead the fast bowling attack for the Warriors. Alfonso Thomas is one of the most experienced T20 bowlers around the world. Thomas plays a lot of T20 leagues around the world and is a very skilled bowler in this format. Thomas can swing the new ball and is very effective in the death overs with his yorkers and slower balls. His countryman Wayne Parnell is also a part of the Warriors. Parnell is a wicket taker and can always provide the initial breakthroughs. He is also very handy with the bat. Then comes the all-rounders. Mathews, Samuels, Hopes, Wright, Smith and Ryder can all bowl and that is one of the major strength that the Warriors have in their team.

Domestic Players: Ashish Nehra and Ashoke Dinda will lead the attack for the Warriors. Nehra, whenever he is fit is a class bowler. Nehra bowls with tremendous control and with good pace. His experience at the international level can really help the Pune team.

Dinda is also a very talented bowler. He has done brilliantly at the domestic level in the last one year and that helped him getting selected for the Indian team. Dinda bowls with good pace and can trouble the batsman with his quick-arm action. Dinda bowls with a lot of heart and can have an influence on the match.

Pune have two very good spinners in their side. Rahul Sharma has warmed the bench for the national team and will be raring to go. The tall leg-spinner is very accurate and can trouble any batsman with the bounce he gets. He is into Kumble mould and is very difficult to hit. To support Rahul Sharma there is Murali Kartik. Kartik is considered to be very unlucky not to play more matches for the Indian team. Kartik is a genuine left-armer and looks to deceive batsmen with his flight and guile. He has played a lot of T20 cricket in England and is a very experienced bowler in the shorter format.       

Players to watch out from Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa, Jesse Ryder, Michael Clarke

Pune Warriors India complete squad: Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Ashish Nehra, Anustap Majumdar, Ashok Dinda, Ali Murtaza, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish Mishra, Murali Kartik, Rahul Sharma, Raiphi Gomez, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Alfonso Thomas, Angelo Mathews, Callum Ferguson, Jesse Ryder, Luke Wright, Marlon Samuels, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Tamim Iqbal, Wayne Parnell 

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News