Shoaib still not ‘fit enough’

By Shamik Chakrabarty

Kolkata, May 9: Shoaib Akhtar is still not match fit and Brad Hodge is returning home on Saturday morning as he has got a national call-up. So the problems remains for the Knight Riders despite their win over Royal Challengers on Thursday.

Akhtar is working extra hard to get match fit. But coach John Buchanan thinks he is still not "fit enough" to play the next game, against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad on May 11. "I don’t think he can make it to the XI for the next match but I am confident that he will play at the Eden Gardens on May 13," Buchanan said.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly, however, wants to wait. "We will watch for another couple of days and will decide accordingly," Ganguly said. Akhtar, who has not played for a while, is under physio Andrew Leipus’ supervision. The quick is also spending quality time with the rookie seamers in the squad and has already made a "positive impact" in the dressing room.

Meanwhile, asked about Hodge’s replacement, team director Joy Bhattacharya said: "We are looking at all options. Nothing has been finalised yet."

Buchanan said that Hodge would be missed but pinned hopes on Pakistan opener Salman Butt.

Hodge, who came in as Chris Gayle’s replacement, himself was disappointed to leave midway. "I am disappointed but national duty comes first. I enjoyed my time here and was astonished by the local talent," he commented.

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IPL effect: Changes in offing for NCA

By Abhishek Baadkar

Bangalore, May 9: With Indian domestic cricket receiving a huge boost in the form of the Indian Premier League, the city-based National Cricket Academy has upped the ante by making significant changes in its domestic-oriented structure.

"The NCA has made quite a few changes keeping the future in mind and this proposal was mooted by (NCA chairman) Ravi Shastri," said a top NCA official. Since the first batch from 2000-01 which had the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, trainees at the academy have been selected on the basis of performances in inter-state and other junior tournaments.

It is learnt that from this season onwards, the trainees will be selected on their performance in the Col Hemu Adhikari tournament. Five sides — East, West, North, South and the All-India Universities team — will feature in the event. Up until the previous season, the camp was scheduled for 45 days with 25 trainees. The players undergo physical and mental fitness sessions, yoga, video analysis, bowling and batting drills during the camp.

The NCA official added that the new structure was completely different from the previous one.