‘If only Shakib were a Kiwi...’

Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a five-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings on Friday, despite scoring a competitive 165 for seven in a relatively slow wicket in Dubai. And it was apparent that Kolkata skipper Eoin Morgan struggled due to his lack of options in the bowling department. 

Probably that's what prompted Aakash Chopra, cricket analyst and former Indian cricketer, to tweet: "If only Shakib were a Kiwi…"

Chopra's tweet was probably directed towards Kolkata head coach and former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum, who replaced Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson with a Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert for their game against Punjab. 

If only Shakib were a Kiwi… #IPL2021; Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 1, 2021

Even though replacing a frontline pacer with at least another regular bowler would have made much more sense, Kolkata picked an extra batter for the game instead. 

Seifert could only score two before being run-out while Kolkata skipper Morgan struggled to have his 20 overs complete with only four regular bowlers in the side. 

Kiwi pacer Tim Southee, allrounder Shivam Mavi, legspinner Varun Chakravarthy and off-spinner Sunil Narine expectedly fulfilled their quota of four overs. But Morgan had to rely on part-timers Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana to complete the remaining four overs and that's probably where the game got out of Kolkata's reach as Iyer was taken for 30 runs in 2.3 overs scalping just one wicket. 

Shakib, meanwhile, has not yet featured for Kolkata since the tournament resumed in the UAE. Bangladesh's premier all-rounder could only score 38 runs and scalp two wickets while bowling at an economy rate of 8.10 in the three matches he played during the first leg of the tournament in India. 

For Shakib, the second phase of the IPL was supposed to be the best way of preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will also take place in the UAE later this month. The 34-year-old all-rounder is often seen practicing with his Kolkata side but is yet to get any game time in the UAE, which is the best way of preparing for any cricketing event. 

Chopra might have been a bit snarky in his way of pointing out that Shakib probably would have been a better pick for the Kolkata side in yesterday's game, but it can not be denied that his claims do not have any merit. And probably, both Shakib and Kolkata, who are yet to confirm their playoff spots, might actually benefit with the number two all-rounder in T20Is on their side in the upcoming matches.