The world number one all-rounder Sakib al Hasan once again found himself out of the playing eleven of the Kolkata Knight Riders who lost by 22 runs to Rajasthan Royals on Sunday in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.
Sakib’s compatriot Tamim Iqbal was also kept waiting for his IPL debut with the Pune Warriors as he too had been sidelined for their second outing in the competition.
KKR tasted their second defeat in as many matches and they are yet to get any points.
Sakib, who played 12 matches for KKR since his debut last year, was not picked in the side in their opening encounter against Delhi Daredevils, a rain-shortened match which they also lost, and many had hoped that he would get his chance in their second game.
Minutes before the match started, cricket website cricinfo and telecasting rights holder Set Max
kept the fans in confusion over Sakib’s place in
the team as cricinfo showed he was not playing, but Max had his name on the list.
But it was heartbreaking news for Sakib’s fans in the country when they
saw he wasn’t playing as West Indian Sunil Narine, making his debut in the IPL, was named ahead of him.
Off-spinner Narine replaced South African paceman Marchant de Lange, who was expensive in the three overs he bowled against Delhi Daredevils, and had an ordinary day with the ball (29-0).
Sakib did not make much of an impact in his inaugural season as a batsman, making 59 runs in six innings at an average of 11.80, though he was decent as a bowler grabbing 12 wickets at 6.79.
Sakib was instrumental in Bangladesh’s success in the recent Asia Cup and played a big role in the win against India and many thought his form would surely get him a place in the KKR eleven right from the beginning of the cash-rich event.
Sakib though can take this as a blessing in disguise, he can relax a bit from on-field action as he did not have any break from cricket in the last two years.
Meanwhile, Tamim is yet to get his taste of the IPL with Pune as well. The dashing opener was picked by Pune at the last moment and also showed his capabilities with the bat when he scored 57 off 37 balls in a warm-up game.
In-form Tamim did not feature in Pune’s opener against Mumbai Indians, which they won, but he was expected to play the second match on Sunday after a poor performance by the batsmen earlier.
New Zealander Jesse Ryder was chosen ahead of Tamim and he replaced South African Wayne Parnell to fill the foreign players’ slot.
-With New Age input
