Kolkata Knight Riders put Shoaib on sale

Kolkata, Jan 5 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are in
no mood to retain controversial Pakistani speedster Shoaib
Akhtar for the Indian Premier League's second season and today
put him "up for trade" in the transfer window which is open
till January 22.

"Shoaib is up for trade... We cannot have room for two
pacers (that includes Umar Gul)," KKR coach John Buchanan told
reporters on the sidelines of their first day's selection
trials at the Eden Gardens here Monday.

Many players are being put on sale by their respective
franchises with the trading window closing on Janaury 22.

The eight franchises will have opportunities during the
trading window to trade players either by offering to sell a
player or by expressing an interest to acquire one.

The World Cup winning Australian coach, however, said the
team was happy with the controversial speedster's performance.

Asked whether Knight Riders might reconsider their
decision, Buchanan replied: "In fact, I will think about
Shoaib many many times. At the moment, he is up for trade.
When he came here for a brief period he certainly made an
impact as a bowler and as a player... that means that he is a
potential good bowler, good try in 20-over cricket.

"However, at this stage, we have got him go as part of
our line-up and I really don't see there is room for both in
our make-up. Therefore, we opted to place Shoaib in trade list
at this stage. Let's wait and see what happens next."

Shoaib played just three matches for the Kolkata team and
missed a couple of games due to injury in the first edition of
IPL where KKR missed the semi-final bus, finishing sixth out
of eight teams.

The Pakistan pacer was bought by the franchise owned by
Shah Rukh Khan for a staggering Rs 1.7 crores and he picked up
five wickets in the three matches during his brief KKR stint.

His inconsistent performances may fetch a lower price for
the Kolkata IPL team.

Speculation is rife that Knight Riders are keen to swap
Shoaib with a Delhi DareDevils player, possibly Bengal batsman
Manoj Tiwary.

With two Pakistani players Shoaib Malik and dope-tainted
Mohammad Asif on board, last year's semifianlist Delhi face an
impending crisis in the wake of the current frost in Indo-Pak
ties.

In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, the
relations between India and Pakistan have hit an all-time low
and as the franchisees put up players on the block for trading
in the IPL, it's the Pakistani cricketers who are beginning to
feel the heat.

There are 11 Pakistani players under IPL contracts. PTI