With Michael Clarke injured,Yuvraj Singh likely to lead Pune Warriors

Yuvraj missed last year's IPL because of cancer treatment.

After missing last year8217;s IPL because of cancer treatment,Yuvraj Singh is likely to take over the captaincy at Pune Warriors for the sixth edition of the T20 event. On the eve of the official announcement,the Warriors8217; team management have hinted that they are trying to convince the 31-year-old left-hander to return to the helm following the withdrawal of Australian skipper Michael Clarke due to injury.

We8217;ll be making an official announcement about our captain for IPL VI tomorrow evening, said spokesperson Abhijit Sarkar,director of the Warriors outfit.

Yuvraj had led the Sahara-owned franchise during their maiden IPL appearance in 2011,where they finished second from bottom. While Sourav Ganguly had held the reins during Pune8217;s disapponting campaign last year,Clarke had emerged as Pune8217;s preferred choice to lead the team this time around.

Incidentally,if the Australian captain8217;s back and hamstring had held up,he just might have been in store for a rather staggering change in fortune. From leading Australia in their most disastrous Test campaign in 43 years to being offered 2 million to lead the Warriors,for whom he averaged 16.33 in six matches last season.

With Clarke advised seven to eight weeks of rest,young Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews had initially emerged as the front-runner. That is before the Tamil Nadu government threw another spanner in the works by banning Sri Lankan players from playing in Chennai during the IPL.

Clarke8217;s withdrawal has messed up our plans and the team combination. If the Chennai issue hadn8217;t propped up,Angelo was confirmed as skipper. But the match against the Super Kings is our seventh and it could well be a do or die match. We don8217;t want to take chances, said a source while adding that discussions were already on with Yuvraj and that the management had all but convinced him to captain the Warriors again.

The Pune outfit did have another option up their sleeve in the form of former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor,who made the move here from Delhi Daredevils. But Taylor and the captain8217;s arm-band have had a frosty relationship of late after he was inceremoniously sacked following the Black Cap8217;s unsuccessful tour to Sri Lanka late last year.

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And it8217;s unlikely that he would want to take up the responsibility of leading a team he8217;s never represented before and one that has the worst record in IPL history with just eight wins out of 30 matchesa success rate of 27.58 per cent.

We were considering three options in Yuvraj,Ross and Angelo. But now Yuvraj is our main candidate, the source added.

Assembly polls changes schedule

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League re-jigged the fixtures of the high-profile tournament,making changes in the dates and timings of some of the matches,including the ones to be held in Bangalore on May 4 and 6,which were rescheduled owing to the Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab,earlier scheduled to be held in Bangalore on May 4,will now be played on May 14,while RCB8217;s home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad,which was slated for May 6,has been advanced to April 9. Kings XI Punjab8217;s match against Delhi Daredevils,earlier scheduled for April 23 in Mohali,has been shifted to Dharamsala on May 16,while KXIP8217;s May 16 fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Dharamsala will now be held in Mohali on May 6.

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Delhi Daredevils8217; home match against KXIP,earlier scheduled for May 13,has been rescheduled for April 23. The following changes have been made:

KXIP vs DD shifted from April 23 8:00 pm,Mohali to May 16 8:00 pm,Dharamsala

SH vs DD stays on May 4 but moves from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in Hyderabad

RCB vs KXIP shifted from May 4 8:00 pm,Bengaluru to May 14 4:00 pm,Bengaluru

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RCB vs SH shifted from May 6 8:00 pm,Bengaluru to April 9 4:00 pm,Bengaluru

DD vs KXIP shifted from May 13 4:00 pm,Delhi to April 23 8:00 pm,Delhi

KKR vs PWI shifted from May 14 8:00 pm,Ranchi to May 15 4:00 pm,Ranchi

KXIP vs RCB shifted from May 16 4:00 pm,Dharamsala to May 6 8:00 pm,Mohali

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CSK vs DD shifted from May 16 8:00 pm,Dharamsala to May 14 8:00 pm,Dharamsala