The Pune Warriors India were a part of the Indian Premier League for a brief duration. The Pune-based franchise did not make a massive impact on the league, but in the 3 seasons that they played, they signed some new players that many franchises ignored in the auction. Pune finished in the bottom half of the points table every season they played.
Speaking of their squad, great players like Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Smith, Steve Smith, Murali Kartik, Marlon Samuels, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, and many others played for this team. However, here’s a look at the five players who have only played for the Pune Warriors in the IPL.
1.Michael Clarke
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke was prone to injuries. He did not make himself available to play in the IPL often, but in one of the seasons, he earned a deal from the Pune Warriors.
Clarke, who played 115 Test matches and 245 ODI games for his country, represented Pune in six matches. The 2015 World Cup winning captain scored 98 runs in those games, with his highest score being 41. He also took a couple of wickets with his left-arm spin bowling skills.
2.Callum Ferguson
Another Australian player to make his presence felt on this list is the right-handed middle-order batsman Callum Ferguson. The South Australia-based cricketer made a name for himself with his performances in white-ball cricket.
Still, Ferguson did not gain a contract from the IPL franchises until the 2011 season. The Pune Warriors India signed him and retained him for the 2012 season as well. Ferguson scored 98 runs in eight innings for them.
3.Nathan McCullum
New Zealander all-rounder Nathan McCullum is the brother of the current Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach, Brendon McCullum. The former Kiwi captain had kicked off the IPL in a grand fashion with a century in the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Baz even played for the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, the Chennai Super Kings, the Gujarat Lions, and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in his career. However, his brother, Nathan could only play for the Pune Warriors team. In two matches, he scored 26 runs and took zero wickets.
4.Alfonso Thomas
South African speedster Alfonso Thomas had come into the limelight after his splendid performance in the shorter formats of the game. Thomas has 263 T20 wickets to his name in his long career.
However, the IPL franchises did not show much interest in him. Pune Warriors signed him for two seasons, where he donned their jersey in 15 matches and took 14 wickets. He played his last match against RCB in May 2012. Notably, the Cape Town-born player had taken a three-wicket haul in the IPL. His best bowling figures were 3/22.
5.Tim Paine
The current captain of the Australian Test team, Tim Paine did not have a great IPL career. The right-handed wicket-keeper batsman has played 31 Tests and 35 ODIs for his country.
In the IPL, he only represented the Pune Warriors India franchise. Paine played a couple of games for them, aggregating 10 runs, with his highest score being 8. Sadly, he did not receive another contract.
