Pune Warriors Cricket Team Yuvraj Singh Captain

Pune Warriors Cricket Team

Pune Warriors (Marathi: पुणे वॉरियर्स) is the Pune franchise for the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by the Sahara Group. Geoff Marsh is head coach, former England all rounder Dermot Reeve is the assistant coach. On 8 March 2011, The Warriors announced that Yuvraj Singh will be their captain for IPL 2011.
In March 2010, the franchises of Pune and Kochi joined the league of eight original IPL teams for the 2011 season. Sahara Adventure Sports Limited had made the winning bid of $370 million for the Pune franchise. The bid is the highest bid by any company in the short history of IPL.

Coach: Geoff Marsh
Founded: March 21, 2010
Home ground: MCA Pune International Cricket Centre (Capacity : 55,000)
Owner: Sahara Group
Official website: www.sahara.in

Franchise History

During the 2010 franchise auction for two new Indian Premier League teams, Subrata Roy of Sahara Group purchased the Pune IPL team. Pune and Kochi will join the current eight teams from the fourth season of IPL to be held in 2011. On March 22, 2010 Sahara group bought Pune IPL team for Rs 1,702 crore.The Videocon Group lost the bid for the Pune IPL Team. It was named Sahara Pune Warriors on 24 April 2010 at a function held at Pune.[

Current squad

Batsmen
15  Graeme Smith
21  Callum Ferguson
84  Mohnish Mishra
--  Dheeraj Jadhav
--  Manish Pandey
--  Abhishek Jhunjhunwala
--  Harshad Khadiwale

Bowlers
09  Alfonso Thomas
25  Murali Karthik
36  Wayne Parnell
64  Ashish Nehra
75  Jerome Taylor
--  Kamran Khan
--  Ganesh Gaikwad
--  Bhuveneshwar Kumar
--  Rahul Sharma
--  Shrikant Mundhe

Wicket Keepers
11  Robin Uthappa
16  Tim Paine

All Rounders
08  Nathan McCullum
09  Angelo Mathews
10  Mitchell Marsh

12  Yuvraj Singh (Captain)
77  Jesse Ryder
--  Mithun Manhas

Support Staff
Head Coach:  Geoff Marsh
Assistant Head Coach:  Dermot Reeve

Yuvraj Singh named Pune captain of Sahara Pune Cricket Team

Yuvraj Singh has been named captain of Sahara Pune Cricket Team

Warriors for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League. Debuting in the IPL this year, the franchise includes South Africa captain Graeme Smith, hard-hitting New Zealand opener Jesse Ryder and Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews among others.

Yuvraj had captained Kings XI Punjab - and initially was their icon player - in the first two IPL seasons, leading the team to the semi-finals of the first edition. In 2009, Punjab finished fifth in the group stage, after which Yuvraj was replaced at the helm with Kumar Sangakkara. Yuvraj was in poor form in the 2010 IPL, and came in for criticism for his batting and attitude.

Yuvraj's appointment as Pune's captain comes soon after his man-of-the-match performance in India's World Cup tie against Ireland on Sunday, in which he picked up five wickets and scored a half-century. The team had previously appointed Geoff Marsh as chief coach, and Dermot Reeve and Praveen Amre as assistant coaches. The set-up also includes India domestic players like Manish Pandey, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Mithun Minhas.

Pune will take on Punjab in their opening IPL match on April 10 in Mumbai.

News espncricinfo

Yuvraj shines as India downs Ireland

Yuvraj Singh put in a superb all-round display as India survived some anxious moments to post a five-wicket victory over a fighting Ireland in its World Cup match on Sunday.

The part-time spinner bagged a maiden five-wicket haul to restrict Ireland to a modest 207 and then hit an unbeaten 50 to help his side achieve the target with four overs to spare in the day-night match in Bangalore.

India were wobbling at 4 for 100 before Yuvraj and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34) added 67 runs for the fifth wicket.

Yusuf Pathan gave the finishing touches to India's second win in three matches with an attractive 24-ball 30 not out, which included two sixes and one four in one over from left-arm spinner George Dockrell.

"I think the most important thing is that everyone got a chance to bat. We were batting under pressure," said Dhoni, whose side now sits top of Group B.

"We are showing signs of improvement. I feel it's important to peak at the right time because it's a long tournament. What we have seen is slow and gradual improvement in the bowling side."

Ireland captain William Porterfield, who made an impressive 75 as opener, said his side was 40 runs short of a challenging target.

"I think we got ourselves into a great position after losing two early wickets. We're fighting well and we fought right until the end. An extra 40 runs could have been interesting," he said.

Ireland, who upset England in its last match at this venue on Wednesday, made India struggle for runs with its disciplined bowling and brilliant fielding.

Paceman Trent Johnston, who became the third Irish player to figure in 50 one-day internationals, jolted India when he dismissed Virender Sehwag (5) and Gautam Gambhir (10) in his opening three overs.

Johnston, who sustained an injury after falling on his follow-through, did not bowl after five overs.

India looked in trouble when Sachin Tendulkar (38) was trapped LBW while attempting to sweep Dockrell and Virat Kohli (34) was run out. The pair added 63 for the third wicket.

Left-arm spinner Yuvraj (5 for 31) earlier played a key role in restricting Ireland despite an impressive 75 from Porterfield.

His victims included Kevin O'Brien (9), who hammered the fastest century in World Cup history against England, as Ireland lost its last eight wickets for 85 runs in a dramatic collapse.

Yuvraj gave the capacity crowd plenty to cheer about after left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan had rocked Ireland with two early wickets.

Porterfield, dropped on 0 by Pathan in the slips off Zaheer, went on to complete his fifth half-century in one-dayers before being caught in the covers off Yuvraj. He hit one six and six fours.

Ireland was on course to post a challenging total following a 113-run stand for the third wicket between Porterfield and Niall O'Brien (46) before it slipped from a healthy 2 for 122.

It suffered a crucial blow when well-set Niall O'Brien was run out after completing 1,000 runs in one-day internationals. His brother, Kevin, failed to repeat his heroics from the last match as he offered a return catch to Yuvraj.

There was no hint of the slide when Porterfield and Niall O'Brien were steadying the innings after Zaheer's double strike. The Irish pair never looked in trouble, comfortably gathering runs against both pace and spin.

Zaheer struck with the fourth delivery of the match when he bowled Paul Stirling for a duck before having Ed Joyce caught behind for four.

Yuvraj Singh Happy to be India's terminator

Yuvraj happy to be India's terminator

By Manoj Vatsyayana (AFP) – 1 hour ago

BANGALORE, India — Yuvraj Singh admitted on Monday that he's thriving in his role as India's World Cup terminator having made history with his five-wicket haul and half-century against Ireland.

India were struggling at 100-4, chasing a modest 208-run target in the day-night match in Bangalore on Sunday, before Yuvraj steered his side home with an unbeaten 50 under pressure.

The left-hander also excelled as a part-time spinner, taking 5-31 for a maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals, the first player to achieve the double feat.

He was named man of the match for his superb all-round performance.

"Finishing a game gives me a lot of confidence going into the next match. I'm just happy about how I am hitting the ball. My responsibility is to bat till the end whether we are batting first or chasing a target," said Yuvraj.

"I missed quite a bit of cricket over a year and a half due to injuries and now to come back and play my part in victories is very satisfying.

"Maybe I don't have my 100 per cent strike-rate right now, but more than that I am helping to finish matches and that is important. Overall, it was a very good day for me."

Yuvraj said India needed a batsman to stay till the end after Irish paceman Trent Johnston and left-arm spinner George Dockrell had taken two wickets apiece to put his side under pressure.

"The pitch was slower than the one used for the last game and as we were under pressure at 100-4, it was important that somebody batted till the end," said Yuvraj, who also scored a half-century in a tied game against England.

He was also instrumental in restricting Ireland after the visitors were strongly placed at 122-2 following a 113-run stand between skipper William Porterfield (75) and Niall O'Brien (46).

Yuvraj, who has scored 7,797 runs and taken 99 wickets in 268 one-day internationals, said he was happy with his five-wicket performance.

"I am a part-time bowler and when I got those five wickets I was as happy as I was when I scored my first one-day international hundred. I think it's an achievement for a part-timer to get five wickets," he said.

"I won't say bowling has helped me regain confidence. Whether I take wickets or don't take wickets, I want to go and get runs. Just because I got five wickets it does not mean I have overshadowed other bowlers."

The victory also boosted India's chances of making it to the quarter-finals as they remain unbeaten in Group B, having defeated Bangladesh and Ireland, and tied their match against England.

But Yuvraj said India were capable of lifting their performance more in the coming matches.

"There is always room for improvement, like taking early wickets and fielding better. But the main thing is that in every situation every member of the team is doing well and that's a good sign," he said.

India meet the Netherlands, South Africa and the West Indies in their remaining matches. The top four sides from the group qualify for the quarter-finals.

Yuvraj hopes to play key role for India in World Cup

Bangalore: Star cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who steered India to a comfortable win over Ireland late Sunday with his all-round performance, hoped to play a key role in the upcoming big matches in the ICC World Cup series.

"It's been a very good day for me as I was in form with bat and ball. I am happy to have stayed till the end to finish off the game on a winning note," a beaming Yuvraj told reporters after India beat a defiant Ireland by five wickets in 46 overs in Group B fixture at the Chinnaswamy stadium in this tech hub.

Yuvraj's all-round show helps India win by 5 wickets

Though elated over his maiden five-wicket haul, a first in the World Cup, Yuvraj sought to down play the rare achievement by saying he was only a part-time bowler and trying to do his bit for the team when regular pacers and spinners were not able to deliver as expected.

"You can say it was my day though it may not be like that every day. But you can't equate me with a world class spinner like Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and upcoming spinners like Piyush (Chawla). I just tried to put brakes on Ireland when they were trying to consolidate after losing two early wickets," the south paw asserted.

Admitting that the team had lot more to do in all departments for winning the remaining three league matches and subsequently to lift the World Cup, Yuvraj said it did not matter if he bats in the fourth, fifth or sixth slot as long as he plays well and stays till end to post a big score or chasing to win.

"If we have to prove that we are a good team we have to win all the matches irrespective of whom we are playing against. As an all-rounder, I have an important role to play in the team, more with the bat than ball, as I am only a part-time leg bowler who tries to make up for other bowlers," Yuvraj clarified.

Asked he had cemented his place in the team with a match-winning performance by scoring a successive 50 after a similar knock against England Feb 27, Yuvraj said he was finding his form to be in good nick so that he could build partnerships and last till the end for putting up or chasing big scores.