Thursday 28 March 2013

Mathews to lead Pune Warriors......

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews has been appointed captain of the Pune Warriors for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League. 

Mathews found himself in the hot seat after Michael Clarke, the first choice skipper for the Warriors, was ruled out of cricket for about 10 weeks by Cricket Australia, following a back problem. The Australian captain had to miss the last of the four-match Test series against India due to his troubled back. 

Mathews, who was recently appointed captain of the Sri Lankan team would become the third Lankan to lead an IPL team this season - Mahela Jayawardene is captain of the Delhi Daredevils while Kumara Sangakkara leads Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

The Sri Lankan all rounder edged out Yuvraj Singh in the race to the IPL side's captaincy because the owners believe Yuvraj should best be left to contribute in his role as the star all rounder. 

Yuvraj was recovering from a rare germ cell cancer last year and the team was headed in his absence first by Sourav Ganguly and then by Steven Smith. 

However, the Warriors will have to do without their captain in their away game against Chennai Super Kings after the IPL Governing Council decided to exclude Sri Lankan players in Chennai. 

Mathews, who has been a part of the Warriors as a player for the past two years, said it would be a great opportunity for him to gain leadership experience working with a multi-national squad.

"It's a great honour to be offered the captaincy of the Pune Warriors and I am grateful to the team management and franchise owners for the faith shown in me. 

"For me personally this is a great chance to gain leadership experience working with a multi-national squad and a very exciting opportunity given the enormous talent within our young squad," said Mathews. 

Welcoming the Sri Lankan as the skipper of the Pune outfit, Sushanto Roy, managing director of Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, said the side would be benefited by his leadership abilities.

"We had many options of international and national cricketers to choose from within the existing squad but we chose Angelo Mathews as our captain as we are confident of his leadership abilities," Roy said. 

"All the senior players in the team are happy with the choice and it is a joint decision taken by the senior players and team management. We now have a correct mix of youth and experience to launch an aggressive IPL season 6 campaign under the leadership of Mathews," he added. 

Meanwhile, Allan Donald will be the head coach of the side while Rob Walters comes on board as assistant coach and will be the fitness trainer and fielding coach of the team. Praveen Amre will continue to be the assistant coach. 

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