Four down, Kolkata pins hope on its Rawalpindi knight

Just when a string of defeats and embarrassing infighting had started to beleaguer Kolkata Knight Riders after their exhilarating beginning at the Indian Premier League (IPL) carnival, comes the startling piece of news — Pakistan’s superstar fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is now available to play in the tournament.

The 32-year-old speedster, whose middle name is ‘controversy’, is expected to fly down to Kolkata on Monday. He will undergo an informal fitness test, while his home team will be camping here for the next few days ahead of their match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Thursday at the Eden Gardens.

Reeling under four consecutive losses, Sourav Ganguly & Co are now set to play their trump card, Shoaib, against the Royal Challengers.

Shah Rukh-owned Red Chillies Entertainment, which is the franchisee of the Kolkata team, had shelled out $4,25,000 to bag Shoaib for the IPL campaign but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) banned the player for five years, early last month, following a spat with the board.

However, in a heartening development for the IPL governing committee and particularly for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the appellate tribunal in Lahore that is hearing the cricketer’s case has decided to suspend the 5-year ban for a month, effectively clearing him to take part in the IPL tournament, which is slated to be played till June first week.

Speaking to The Indian Express, IS Bindra of the Board of Control for Cricket in India welcomed the development, saying: “We just need to find out now how soon he can join the Kolkata team. Personally, I think the happiest people will be those in the Knight Riders camp, since they desperately need to get back to winning ways in this tournament.”

Equally upbeat was Red Chillies’ top official IS Bhandari. “We are glad and immensely relieved that Shoaib is finally going to play for us. We hope he is available to play in the Thursday’s match. Shah Rukh is extremely happy as well over this development,” he told this daily.

“This is good news for the team, particularly since they have gone through four defeats. Shoaib’s inclusion is a shot in the arm,” said Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Prasun Mukherjee.

The man at the centre of discussion himself expressed his satisfaction at being cleared for playing in the IPL. Speaking to mediapersons, a wary Shoaib said: “This is a great relief for me, as I am keen to play in the IPL. But this is just one battle won and we still have to win the final case.” Shoaib’s inclusion comes after Riders’ top guns — Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Brendan