Sri Lankan ODI skipper Angelo Mathews has been named as Pune Warriors captain for the upcoming IPL tournament.
Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews is set to lead Pune Warriors in the 2013 IPL campaign after taking over the role of captain from Sourav Ganguly.
Pune have taken this decision despite knowing that Mathews will not be able to represent the side in Chennai, as the IPL have banned Sri Lankan players from going there after trouble in the area between Sri Lanka nationals and Tamil Nadu groups.
Mathews will take over as captain for the Warriors after their first choice, Michael Clarke, was ruled out for the entire competition with a back injury he sustained whilst playing for Australia.
The Sri Lankan now becomes Pune’s fourth captain in three years since their creation in 2011, with Yuvraj Singh leading them in their first tournament and Sourav Ganguly and Steve Smith sharing responsibilities in the second.
Former captain Yuvraj was forced to stand down as captain after being diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer, but has since fully recovered and will return to the side this year. However, it had already been decided before the IPL auction on 3 February that Yuvraj would not resume his role as skipper.
It now seems that three IPL teams will be captained by Sri Lankans this year, with the Delhi Daredevils headed by Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara leading the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
This could cause tension as it has already been suggested that the Chennai Super Kings have an unfair advantage after the expulsion of Sri Lankan players from the city.
Despite that, Mathews will now team up with Pune head coach Allan Donald as the two of them try and improve on the Warriors’ bottom-placed finish in 2012.
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