This is a fairly simple prognosis as Shoaib Akhtar has always come up with flashes of blinding brilliance but has always failed to replicate them with any consistency.

Shoaib Akhtar has attended so many hearings that he might fancy his chances as an attorney or arbitrator. But his figures of 4-11 in 3 overs against Delhi Daredevils indicate that he need not mull any alternative careers as yet. Many analysts with all their cricketing acumen and recondite knowledge thought he will not have much of an impact. He has planted a tight slap across their face and proved them embarrassingly wrong.

But yours truly is adventurous enough to stick his neck out and say that Akhtar’s maiden IPL match might be a false dawn and that he will not come close to anything like it in the forthcoming matches. This is a fairly simple prognosis as Shoaib Akhtar has always come up with flashes of blinding brilliance but has always failed to replicate them with any consistency.

He is no stranger to controversies and injuries resulting in long layoffs, and subsequent come backs. He normally doesn’t finish an entire series and I can only remember his performance against a touring England side more than a couple of years ago where he lived to the hoopla normally associated with him. However, the ban might bring the best out in him and he might like the IPL for the light work he is supposed to perform - albeit in a very tense environment – compared to international cricket.