Has Ponting really become a liability for the Kolkata Knight Riders? Well, if rumors going around in the purchase market of the IPL are to be believed, then Kolkata Knight Riders are testing the market secretly to see whether anybody can purchase Ponting. Is it owing to the poor performance that Ponting had in the previous fixture, the opening one at Indian Premier League.

Authorities of KKR sniffed the rumors in the bud and informed that there was nothing of this sort, even n the imagination of the owners. Setting the record straight the officials informed that when the player was not put on sale, where is the question of not getting a buyer, these are all rumors and may be done to demoralize the mental strength of the KKR as also of Ponting before the beginning of the South African tour.

Programs like IPL which have generated such media attention are always the budding grounds for controversy of one kind or the other. Therefore, it was claimed by a leading Indian Premier League figure that Ponting was unwanted by Kolkata this year, and that they were on the look out to trade him to a rival franchise last month. It was in response to the initiative of Ponting, who announced yesterday that he would not participate in the April-May series as he needed rest and wanted to spend time with family ahead of one of the busiest international schedule mapped out in Australia's cricket history.

The source of the IPL however had a different take on Ponting’s statement. He informed that Ponting had given this statement about not associating with the IPL as he had got hints from the KKR that he is not welcomed with the open arms, which in effect meant that his future with Indian Premier League was all but finished. So, before KKR could take any action in this regard, Ponting had given a statement that he would not be joining the Indian Premier League in the second season.

But, a KKR informed that trading Ponting had never been an option. Ponting has a three-year contract worth $US400, 000 each season with Kolkata, while far less accomplished players attracted bids twice as much. The price at which KKR has acquired Ponting is a bargain, and therefore they would not trade him at all.

Under the rules of the six-week Indian Premier League tournament, teams could trade talent and make up differences in price. Ponting's manager, James Henderson, said his client's unavailability was directly related to the hectic schedule of the Australian cricket team.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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