Indian Cricket Team Updates

Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has got the better of Yuvraj Singh to captain Pune Warriors India for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League starting April 3. Yuvraj seemed to be in contention for the top job after Australian Test captain Michael Clarke was ruled out of the tournament due to a severe back injury. Mathews, who is Sri Lanka's T20 captain, has been with Pune Warriors for past two years. Pune Warriors also announced Allan Donald as the head coach of the team while Rob Walters will be the fitness trainer and fielding coach. Praveen Amre will continue to be the assistant coach. Managing Director of Sahara Adventure Sports Limited Sushanto Roy said on Thursday the decision to appoint Mathews skipper was "unanimous" and taken by senior players and team management. "We had many options of international and national cricketers to choose from within the existing squad but we chose Mathews as our captain as we are confident of his l...

The nine IPL franchises have confirmed their initial squads for IPL 2013. Under the terms of their IPL contract, the Franchises had the option to extend the agreements with their players for the 2013 season on the same financial terms. A total of 179 players have had their contracts so extended. The Hyderabad franchise owned by Sun TV Network exercised its option and retained over 20 of the players who represented Deccan Chargers in IPL 2012. "The Franchises have clearly focussed on performance in the IPL in making their decisions as to which players will form part of their respective core groups for the 2013 season. Each Franchise has room under the Salary Cap to be able to sign additional players, either by trading or in the auction or, in the case of uncapped Indian players, by direct agreement with the player in question," Rajeev Shukla, Chairman, IPL, said. Each franchise has a Salary Cap of up to $12.5m to spend on their 2013 squad of upto 33 playe...