Kolkata coach Whatmore ducks the Sourav bouncer

NAVI MUMBAI: Not many can combine diplomacy and sarcasm to great effect. Kolkata Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore surely can. Whatmore was asked about his feelings as Pune Warriors' Sourav Ganguly is slated to take on his former team at the DY Patil stadium on Thursday.
"We are happy for him (Sourav). He wanted to play in the IPL and he got a team. But it's about teams: Pune Warriors vs KKR, not individuals," said Whatmore.
When he was asked about team owner Shah Rukh Khan's statement that Ganguly has been a "lucky charm" for KKR, Whatmore tried to tap the half volley."I haven't read it."
But he came up with a follow-through: "We hadn't made the final in the first three years (when Ganguly was with them). So I don't know what it is."
Whatmore said that the game against Pune is not a do-or-die game for them. "But we have to do our best and try and win this game."
The Australian said each member of the team is fit and available for selection.
He didn't agree with the perception that KKR have been dependent on a few players to deliver the goods. "It has been a team performance," he said. "This can be gauged from the fact that except one (Iqbal Abdullah), other Man of the Match awards have been won by different players."
Evergreen Akram
Wasim Akram, the sultan of swing and whiff of seam, is still a sight for the gods.
Arguably the greatest left-arm paceman the game has produced, Akram, who is now the KKR consultant, bowled with a mini run-up during the nets to captain Gautam Gambhir. And though the India ODI captain played him without much problem, Akram's run-up was still poetry in motion and the wrist position at the point of delivery was impeccable. He also gave a demonstration of his soccer skills by passing a stationary ball with his foot: first bounce in the waiting bowler's palms.