Jolt for Riders as Hodge leaves for national duty

By Our Correspondents

New Delhi/Kolkata, May 9: The Kolkata Knight Riders will be without their recent recruit Brad Hodge after Cricket Australia named the Twenty20 specialist batsman as cover for vice-captain Michael Clarke who will not leave with the rest of Ricky Ponting’s squad for their West Indies tour.

After Ponting and Kiwi stumper-batsman Brendon McCullum left the Indian Premier League for national duties, the Knight Riders roped in Hodge in the second auction to bolster their batting.

The Riders are currently in sixth place in the points tally and the Australian’s contribution so far has been scores of 1 against Kings XI Punjab and 10 against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Hodge was summoned for national duty as Clarke will not depart with teammates on Saturday after being given a ‘compassionate’ leave for private family reasons.

Clarke’s date of arrival in the West Indies is currently unclear and in his absence Hodge will act as his stand-by, CA chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said in a statement on Friday.

While Clarke’s father is fighting Hodgkin’s disease, it’s the grim condition of Graham Bingle, father of the cricketer’s fiancee Lara, that prompted the Australian vice-captain to seek leave. "Brad has had another strong domestic season with the Victorian Bushrangers in all forms of the game. He is still very highly regarded by the National Selection Panel and this provides him with another opportunity to be involved with the Australian squad," Hilditch said.

Meanwhile, the Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers were fined for their slow over rates in their the Thursday night’s encounter at the Eden Gardens. While the Royal Challengers were docked $1,000 by match referee Farokh Engineer, Knight Riders were fined $500. The match was reduced to 16-over-a-side due to rain. According to the playing conditions, which follow ICC rules, any team with a slow over rate faces a $500 per over fine.

Dravid’s men were found two overs behind schedule while the hosts were one over short.