IPL history : Pune Warriors India squad- Where are they now?

The Indian Premier League has always remained as the grandest league in the history of cricket all around the world. The main reason behind it is the league’s immense fan following and the city-based franchises taking part in it. Its first edition which took place in the year 2008 attracted the most fan base because of its unique format.

Initially, 8 teams took part in the inaugural event but the number increased to 10 in the year 2011. 2 new franchises named as Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala were added to make the format more attractive. Pune Warriors India was the franchise named after the city, Pune of the Maharashtra state.

The franchise drew a lot of attention because of the inclusion of some star players like Yuvraj Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Angelo Mathews, Graeme Smith and many more.

PWI elected Yuvraj Singh as the captain of the star-studded lineup of their side. The team had a dismal record in the IPL as they could win only 12 matches in 3 seasons.

In this article, we will have a look at the Pune Warriors India squad of IPL 2012 and where are they now?

(Please note - This list considers only capped players who played for Pune Warriors India)

#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh was the main man for Pune Warriors India in IPL 2011.

Yuvraj Singh always tops the list when the talk comes to IPL or T20 format. This is the format which suits him the most because of his aggressive playing style. He can tee off right from the first ball irrespective of the bowler bowling from the other end. That’s the only reason he could smash 6 sixes in an over in 2007.

Referring to the IPL, Yuvraj has had many ups and downs in his IPL career pertaining to his form and medical issues. Yuvraj has so far played for 5 IPL franchises out of which Pune Warriors India was his 2nd one. He played for this franchise in the year 2011 and 2013. He remained the part of 2012 squad but didn’t play as he was battling cancer.

Yuvraj Singh has been out of the international matches pertaining to his poor form. He was playing for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and is all set to play the 12th edition of IPL for Mumbai Indians in 2019.

#2 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa had kept the wickets for Pune Warriors India in IPL

Robin Uthappa has brilliantly showcased his talent in the IPL and proved that he is a perfect T20 player. He is an aggressive player who likes to slog every ball over the boundary line. He hasn’t had a great international career as compared to his IPL career. He has just played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is matches for India.

Robin has had a great IPL career. He joined the Pune based franchise in the year 2011 pertaining to his batting and keeping skills. He kept the wickets for his side in all the 3 editions from 2011 to 2013.

Currently, Robin has just recovered from an injury which he suffered last year after IPL 2018. However, he is all fit to play IPL 2019 for Kolkata Knight Riders. He is the 5th highest run-scorer in IPL history.

#3 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly captained the Pune Warriors side in the year 2012.

Sourav Ganguly is the former Indian cricketer who had led the team to many memorable victories. He had a great cricketing career of 16 years where he played for his nation. Ganguly contributed to his team in all the aspects which include batting, bowling and captaining too. Sourav eventually retired from international cricket in the year 2008 with some happy memories.

Nicknamed as Dada, Ganguly became the part of Pune Warriors India in the year 2011. Before that, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first 3 editions of IPL. He ended his IPL career by playing his last match for this franchise in the year 2012.

He is still associated with cricket as he is one of the four members of the IPL Governing Council and also the President of Cricket Association of Bengal.

#4 Steve Smith

Steve Smith will make his IPL comeback after 1 year in 2019.

Steve Smith’s comeback in the international cricketing world in 2019 is the most awaited one. Steve hasn’t played international cricket since the last 1 year pertaining to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. This incident led to a 1-year ban for him along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. The whole world is eager to watch his return to cricket in the year 2019.

Steve remained a part of Pune Warriors India squad from 2012 to 2013. He proved to be the lead man for them with the bat while batting in the middle order.

Recently, Smith was seen playing for Comilla Victorians in Bangladesh Premier League. He was also the part of Barbados Tridents in the CPL. At present, the whole world is eager to see Smith playing for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019.

#5 Ashok Dinda

Ashok Dinda celebrating the fall of a wicket

Ashok Dinda has been one of the unluckiest cricketers in the history of Indian cricket so far. Dinda shone for Bengal in the domestic tournaments but at the international level, he could play only 13 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India. He had got the talent but because of some poor matches; he has become an unknown in Indian cricket.

Pune Warriors India was the 3rd franchise for which Ashok Dinda played for after Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. He made his debut for Pune in the year 2012, as in 2011, he played for the Delhi based franchise. However, he has so far played for 5 franchises in the history of the IPL.

Recently, Ashok Dinda has not been playing in the IPL as he last played an IPL match in the year 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiants. After that, he could not make a comeback.

#6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is currently India's main bowler in all formats of the game.

Nicknamed as Bhuvi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in the form of his life in recent years. His natural ball swinging talent has outwitted some of the top class batsmen of the world. His recent form will prove to be crucial for India as World Cup 2019 is approaching. Bhuvi will be the main frontline bowler for India in this mega event.

The Indian Premier League proved to be the major platform for Bhuvi to showcase his talent. He made his international debut for India after the 2012 IPL edition. He became a part of the Pune squad in the year 2011 and he impressed the whole world.

Presently, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a part of the ongoing ODI series between India and Australia. This series would prove to be the main path for him as the World Cup is just 2 months away.

#7 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has so far played for 5 franchises in IPL.

Manish Pandey has been like a rolling stone in the history of IPL so far. He has played for 5 IPL franchises from 2008 to 2018. He made his IPL debut in the year 2008 as a part of the Mumbai Indians. After that, he has been a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors India, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He remained an integral part of the Pune side from 2011 to 2013. He strengthened the Pune’s batting line-up with his innings building skills during the middle overs. He was the cornerstone of his side as he even benefited his franchise with his special fielding skills.

Currently, he is all set to play IPL 2019 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he is also trying to get his place back in India’s ODI and T20 squad.

#8 Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke played his last IPL match in the year 2012.

Michael Clarke is a former Australian cricketer who led Australia to its 5th World Cup title in the year 2015. He had a great cricketing career for Australia from 2003 to 2015 as he played well in all the formats. Michael had a great test career for his nation as he scored 8643 runs from 115 matches.

Referring to his performance in the Indian Premier League, Michael Clarke made his debut in the year 2012 for Pune Warriors India. He played 1 IPL season in the year 2012 and did not play in the league next. His poor form while batting at no 3 for his side led to his downfall in IPL.

Currently, he is impressing the world with his commentary skills in English. He retired from cricket happily after he won the 2015 ICC World Cup for his nation.

#9 Murali Kartik

Murali Kartik just played 1 T20I match for India.

Murali Kartik used to be the sensation of left-arm spin bowling during his prime as he used to stun every batsman with his spin. However, he didn’t play much international cricket as he played only 8 test matches, 37 ODIs and 1 T20I for India.

Murali Kartik made his IPL debut playing for the Kolkata based franchise and eventually moved to Pune Warriors India in 2011. He played 2 IPL seasons for Pune in the year 2011 and 2012. He proved to be the main spin bowler for them as he bagged a plethora of wickets with his spin bowling.

Currently, Murali Kartik has retired from cricket and has become a cricket expert. He is also a part of the Hindi commentary panel for the recent India-Australia matches. He played his last cricket match in the year 2014.

#10 Wayne Parnell

Wayne Parnell retired from international cricket in the year 2018.

To have an effective all-rounder who can bat and the bowl is the most beneficial thing for any side in the history of cricket. South Africa used to be lucky as they had Wayne Parnell in their side from 2009 to 2018. Parnell announced his retirement from International cricket in the year 2018 and has been playing league matches after that.

Pune Warriors India invested their money on him in the year 2011 during which he made his IPL debut. However, their money didn’t go in vain as he proved to be worthy and handy for his side.

Parnell has been playing league matches in different countries. He was a part of the Caribbean Premier League and he also played for Sylhet Sixers in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The South African signed a Kolpak deal with Worcestershire in September 2018.

#11 Marlon Samuels

Marlon Samuels last played in IPL for Delhi Daredevils in the year 2017.

Marlon Samuels proved to be the main man for West Indies in both the 2012 and 2016 ICC World T20. He played the lead role in the final matches of both the tournaments and took his team on the winning side. He ended both these tournaments by being the man of the match in the two final matches.

Marlon has so far just played 3 editions of the Indian Premier League. He made his IPL debut for Pune Warriors India in the year 2012. He tried to perform his best for his side as he impressed with both, bat and ball. Delhi Daredevils was the last franchise for which he played IPL in the year 2017.

Samuels has played no international match after 14 December 2018 pertaining to his recent poor form in cricket. His latest ODI match was against Bangladesh and after that, he has been playing league cricket.

#12 Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith retired from all forms of cricket in the year 2014

Graeme Smith is a former South African cricketer who impressed the whole world with his guts and leadership skills. The main reason behind this was his impressive captaincy skills and fearless attitude. During a match, he even came to bat with one broken hand as his nation was on the verge of losing. Smith became the talk of the town at that moment as the whole world praised him.

Smith has not played international cricket since 2014 as he announced his retirement in 2014. He played his last IPL season for Pune Warriors India side in the year 2011 and he was ruled out of the 2012 season because of his ankle injury. The last county match which he played was for the English County Surrey in the year 2014. Currently, he has established a post-retirement career as a South African commentator in the field of cricket.

#13 Luke Wright

Luke Wright proved to be the main all-rounder for Pune in 2012.

Born on 7 March 1985, Luke Wright made his blistering cricketing debut for England in the year 2007 during an ODI match against India. He didn’t play the test cricket for his side but proved to be worthy in the ODI and T20 format. He registered the total of 707 runs in ODIs and 759 runs in T20Is for England. So far, he hasn’t announced his formal retirement from cricket as he has been playing league cricket.

Luke joined the Pune Warriors India camp in the year 2012 and remained the part of it till the end. He impressed the whole world with his skills as he proved to be a wonder with both bat and ball. Wright had played 7 BBL seasons for Melbourne Stars in the BBL as well. However, he has played no international match for his nation since 2014.

#14 Jesse Ryder

Jesse Ryder lost his cricketing career due to personal issues.

Jesse Ryder proved to be the main man for New Zealand side from 2008 to 2014 pertaining to his all-around cricketing skills. He used to be an explosive batsman for his side as he used to open the innings with Brendon McCullum. He has even scored 1 double century in Test matches which describes how his playing style was. But eventually, he lost his cricketing career because of his personal issues.

He remained a part of Pune Warriors India in IPL in the year 2011 and 2012. He played 2 editions of IPL as he was constantly suffering from injuries and personal issues. The year 2013 brought a vulnerable change in his career as he was brutally beaten by some lads outside the Aikman’s bar in Christchurch. Since 2014, he has played no kind of cricket as his whole body was completely fractured after that Christchurch incident.

#15 Angelo Mathews

Angelo Matthews still plays for Sri Lanka

The 31-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder, Angelo Mathews became a part of the Pune Warriors India squad in the year 2011. But, he didn’t play the whole season pertaining to some injury issues. However, he made his debut for Pune based franchise in the year 2012 and even captained it in some matches as Yuvraj was out of the side because of medical issues.

Mathews has not been the part of the Sri Lankan squad as he was ruled out because of injury during a test match against New Zealand. Mathews has played no international or domestic matches in 2019. He played his last IPL match in the year 2017 for the Delhi Daredevils.

Which player of the Pune Warriors India squad do you miss the most? Share your views in the comments box below.

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