From captaincy, to bowling at death, and from opening combinations to an under-performing middle-order, Pune Warriors India have got nothing right in the Pepsi Indian Premier League.
They are the first team to be ruled out of contention for a place in play-offs. While players have been rightly criticised for their below par show, the team management needs to take some blame too for certain decisions. And when it comes from one of the more experienced team members, it must be taken seriously.
Robin Uthappa
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PWI started with Angelo Mathews as their skipper for the full season, before Ross Taylor took over for the game in Chennai since Sri Lankan players are not allowed to play there. Things became farcical on Thursday, as Mathews, dropped for the last four games, resigned. Aaron Finch, who led the side in the previous four games, became the full-time skipper.
“That (having three different captains in 11 games) is definitely one of the problems, I have to be honest with you here,” Robin Uthappa, who scored a superb 75 against RCB at home on Thursday, said.
Strange tactics
Another decision that disappointed the Karnataka opener was the change made to the team which beat Chennai Super Kings in Chennai. Ross Taylor, the stand-in skipper, scored just eight runs, but led the team to a victory that can be described as one of the shocks of the season. However, for the next game, full-time skipper Mathews, an all-rounder, replaced Taylor, a pure batsman.
“It’s been one of the issues. We never stuck to a winning combination. It’s especially disappointing for me as a player to see a winning combination being changed when we beat a very strong team on their home-ground. We came back and changed the winning combination. I have never seen that happen. I think that shook the team up a little bit,” Uthappa said, clearly unhappy with the tactics.
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