‘Akhtar an impact player’

Thursday May 15, 01:22 AM

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Kolkata, May 14: The Rawalpindi Express was sent to banishment. Howrah Express rose from the ashes.

John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly combine ensured that the energy was channelled in the right direction. Physio Andrew Leipus worked overtime to get him going. And Shoaib Akhtar is a hero again.

"I have always maintained that Shoaib is an impact player. He was 90 per cent fit. But even a 90 per cent fit Shoaib is quite a handful," Knight Riders coach John Buchanan told this newspaper on Wednesday.

He added: "Credit must go to Andrew (Leipus) and Adrian (Le Roux) as well for the way they helped him get back in shape."

"The lay off has made him hungry. He has come here with a mission. To prove his worth and to do what he does best, that is bowling fast."

Buchanan waited till Tuesday evening before making up his mind. Ganguly insisted his bowling spearhead should play. Maybe that was the reason why Akhtar said: "Sourav knows how to handle match-winners."

Ganguly, on the other hand said: "I know what he is capable of. He came here with a lot of things happening behind him, he showed character."

But how difficult was it to get him going after a four-month hibernation? "He himself took special initiative to be match fit. Did some exercises on his own. Support staff also played a big role. It was a combined effort," said a teammate

"He was keen to play against the Deccan Chargers. The signs of improvement were there. But the team management preferred to wait," he added.

Akhtar was visibly elated after such a stupendous performance.

He thanked the team management.

"Sharing the dressing room with Shah Rukh and Sourav and others is fantastic. They put faith in me and I am happy to deliver," he said.

He has nicely fitted into the Knight Riders scheme of things and now considers Kolkata as his "home town" and the Eden Gardens his "home ground".

Even after making such a huge impact, he talks about team effort. "Team is important. Whenever I play, I give 100 per cent."

Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag also paid tribute to the speedster. "This is the best spell of Twenty20 bowling I have seen," he said.

But Sehwag denied that they were blown away by sheer pace. "Nobody got out for pace. We are international players and are used to pace. Actually we tried to be too positive against Shoaib."

The Knights partied hard after their win with Shah Rukh teaching the players some dance steps.

"He was ours choice. So it feels vindicated when he comes here and gets success," King Khan said about Akhtar’s performance.

The latter was in a very relaxed mood on Wednesday. Had his lunch with the Kolkata biryani and then joined team’s pool session.

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