Disappointing Akhtar unlikely for next match

After two days of frenzy surrounding the arrival of Shoaib Akhtar for the IPL carnival, the fast bowler’s first practice...

After two days of frenzy surrounding the arrival of Shoaib Akhtar for the IPL carnival, the fast bowler’s first practice session ended in a whimper, sealed with the news that he would probably be left out of Thursday’s match against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

“Given that Shoaib hasn’t been playing cricket for some time, he is not likely to be considered for Thursday’s match,” said Kolkata coach John Buchanan.

As the Knight Riders took to the Eden Gardens this evening, playing a practice match under floodlights, almost all the attention was on Shoaib. But the 32-year-old speedster failed to inspire on all fronts — bowling, fielding and fitness. He bowled a couple of overs, getting his line and length all wrong.

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Rushing in from his marathon run-up, Shoaib started off with two wides and a misdirected no-ball, bowling to David Hussey and Salman Butt. And when it came to his much-feared yorkers, his few attempts at it resulted in pathetic full tosses. Clearly showing signs of poor fitness, he even dropped a sitter at long-off before retiring to the sidelines for good.

Buchanan was seen rigorously taking notes while Akhtar bowled on from the pavilion end, and the Aussie will be particularly concerned with the bowler’s poor showing with the new ball.

Equally disappointing was Ganguly’s performance with the bat. Ishant Sharma sent his skipper packing for a first-ball duck while trying to fend off a bouncer.