Pune place faith in young talent

Pune Warriors are the most expensive franchise in the league, costing the Sahara group a whopping $370 million, but they have been flying under the radar since the team auction last year. While fellow newcomers Kochi have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, including allegedly trying to move the team from Kochi to Ahmedabad, Pune have quietly gone about the business of building their fan base.

Given that 40,000 people turned up just for the unveiling of the team's name, their efforts appear to be paying off. Sadly for those same fans, the stadium in Pune is not ready, and so the team will play its home games in the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, though the franchise is making arrangements to ferry their supporters to and from matches.

On the field, Pune have the largest squad of any of the franchises, having signed 30 players, but it is also one of the youngest, and it will take a steady hand on the rudder from captain Yuvraj Singh to steer them through their debut season. Despite the team's relative inexperience, there is an abundance of talent.

Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj make up a formidable batting line-up, while Ashish Nehra, Jerome Taylor, Wayne Parnell, Murali Kartik and Nathan McCullum provide variety and depth in the bowling department. The injury to Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews is a setback but with such a large squad, it is not a mortal wound. Pandey is also banned for the first four games.

Key Players

After suffering through the self-proclaimed worst year of his life, Yuvraj Singh had an absolute fairytale World Cup and was rightfully named the Man of the Tournament. In the process, he showed a strength of character and depth of desire that have not always been in evidence. If he can carry the same form and, more importantly, the same attitude into the IPL, Pune will be in good hands.

Murali Kartik should probably have played more games for India. He had a stellar county season for Somerset in 2010, taking 45 wickets at an average of 19.60, and at 34 shows no signs of slowing down. As one of the senior players in the side, and its leading spinner, he will need to be the wise head among the tyros.

Jesse Ryder has all the talent in the world but like his captain, the returns on that talent have not always matched the investment. He appears to have put his off-field troubles behind him though, and if can find the application (he scored 56 runs in five games for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009), Ryder and Yuvraj batting together could give opposing bowlers plenty of nightmares.

Big name in

In a squad that is thin on international experience, Graeme Smith stands out like a beacon on a hill. Smith had a difficult World Cup but the IPL could provide the perfect relief. Freed from the burdens of captaincy and the caprices of the South African batting line-up, Smith can go out and play his natural game at the top of the order, knowing he isn't going to be asked about the C-word anytime soon. His long tenure as South Africa captain also makes him a useful resource for Yuvraj.

Below the radar

In the absence of Angelo Mathews, 20-year-old Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh could find himself pitched into the action. Marsh, the son of former Australia opener, and Pune coach, Geoff, is a powerful right-hand batsman and captained the Australia Under-19s to victory in the 2010 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He then announced himself at state level with a blistering 60 from 29 balls against New South Wales in an FR Cup match at the WACA.