Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers will be fighting it out to stay afloat in the inaugural Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Though, Knight Riders have been boosted by the inclusion of Pakistani Shoaib Akhtar, the speedster will not take the field against Royal Challengers owing to lack of match-fitness.
"He (Shoaib) needs to spend some more days with the team so that he can gel well with all the members. Besides I need to be sure about his fitness before allowing him to play," Knight Riders coach John Buchanan said.
Both teams are in similar situation, having won two matches. Knight Riders started their campaign on a bright note, winning their first two matches, but since then have lost four matches on the trot and are lying in fifth place with just four points.
Rawalpindi Express Delayed
IPL T20 team Kolkata Knight Riders players / squad / owner
Kolkata Knight Riders
Owned by Shah Rukh Khan and his company Red Chillies, which has as the partner, Juhi Chawla
Captain: Sourav Ganguly
The Team:-
Sourav Ganguly (India, Left-hand batsman, Right-arm medium pace bowler)
Ishant Sharma (India, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm fast bowler)
Chris Gayle (West Indies, Left-hand batsman, Off-break bowler)
Brendon McCullum (New Zealand, Right-hand batsman, Wicketkeeper)
David Hussey (Australia, Right-hand batsman, Off-break bowler)
Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm fast bowler)
Ricky Ponting (Australia, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm off-break bowler)
Ajit Agarkar (India, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm fast medium bowler)
Murali Kartik (India, Left-hand batsman, Slow left-arm orthodox bowler)
Umar Gul (Pakistan, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm fast medium bowler)
Tatenda Taibu (Zimbwea, Right-hand batsman, Wicketkeeper)
Players signed in the second auction Tuesday:
Salman Butt (Pakistan, Left-hand batsman, Right-arm off break bowler)
Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm off break bowler) Siddarth Kaul (India, Right-hand batsman, Right-arm medium pace bowler)
Iqbal Abdulla (India, Left-hand batsman, Slow left-arm orthodox bowler)