DHAKA: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is optimistic about its possible victory over King’s XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday night depending especially on its batsmen including Robin Uthappa and Shakib Al Hasan.
Depending also on bowlers –Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine - KKR members including owner Shah Rukh Khan and Captain Gautam Gambhir expressed their optimism in recent reports, blogs and articles published in different sites and dailies.
Piyush Chawla who claimed three wickets in the most recent match against KXIP, Qualifier 1, praised Shakib for his consistency in performance.
He told ipl20.com that although Shakib Al Hasan was a bit on the expensive side, that sort of thing happens. He has bowled very well throughout the tournament, so there is no cause to worry.”
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Captain Gautam Gambhir termed his co-player Shakib Al Hasan “biggest and real game changer” in the IPL 2014.
In an interview with IPLT20.com, Gambhir said, “I feel that the biggest plus and the biggest game changers have been someone like Shakib Al Hasan, who has played two unbelievable innings, the way he performed in the last game.”
He also said: “People keep talking about Sunil a lot, but if you see the kind of spells that Shakib has bowled in this tournament, I think Shakib has been a real game changer from the bowling and batting point of view.”
Shakib Al Hasan, who is currently holding position 3 in ICC world ranking, has become the 7th most valuable player in Indian Premier League (IPL) with 226.5 points.
Besides, he is holding 35th position as batsman and 21st as bowler in IPL-7.
Shakib scored 215 runs and bagged 11 wickets playing in 12 matches this season for Kolkata Knight Riders.
His fellows and club owner Shah Rukh Khan are too pleased with the ongoing performance of Shakib.
KKR owner Shahrukh Khan truly has lost his words except ‘Ecstatic’ to express his feelings about the performances by all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine and Robin Uthappa.
In his latest tweet he said, “And Kolkata my city of joy….Sunil….Sakib…Robin…& my man Morne u only keep getting taller. Ecstatic…”
Immediately after Shakib Al Hasan belted an unbeaten 46 off 21 to lead Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Shah Rukh tweeted: “Somebody stop me!!!!!! Robin u r awesomeness. Gauti u have the best smile. Manish my boy & Sakib I want to carry u on my bak. Welcome Pat.”
The Bangladesh all-rounder has proved his worth to the team with some crucial all-round performances.
Shakib, Narine and Piyush Chawla are top three wicket takers of the team while Shakib is considered most valuable all rounder.
Shakib has been termed “Superman” in an article on the blog of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) site.
The article titled “Comic Book Counterparts!” praised him highly saying, “And unlike Superman, we are yet to find his Kryptonite!”
It said: “Shakib al Hasan - The Bangladeshi boy, whose fans can’t stop chanting his name, is KKR’s Superman! There’s nothing he can’t do. He bowls those tight overs, smacks the opposition out of the park and is a handful in the field. And unlike Superman, we are yet to find his Kryptonite!”
The article also compared Gautam Gambhir with Batman, Robin Uthappa as Batman’s partner Robin, Jacques Kallis with Captain America (minus the 'America' bit), Yusuf Pathan with Bruce Banner and Sunil Narine with Spider-Man.
Lakhs of fans and co-players are wishing Shakib may show fantastic performance again on Sunday night.
BDST: 1919 HRS, June 1, 2014
