After a Pakistani daily reported that the Rawalpindi Express was found carrying a handbag full of syringes on his way from Karachi to Mumbai, Akhtar’s team came out with a denial. Kolkata team director Joy Bhattacharya threatened legal action against the newspaper, but made it clear that the fast bowler won’t be available for comment on this controversy.

The sensational report brought back memories of Akhtar getting hauled up for failing a drug test in the Champions Trophy in 2006, alongside Mohammad Asif. And the entire episode, including the Knight Riders' denial and threat to go to court, has cast a shadow on tomorrow’s crucial match here in which the battered Knight Riders will face the Chennai Super Kings test at Eden Gardens.

Clarifying the Kolkata team’s stand, Bhattacharya said: “There is a deliberate attempt to malign Shoaib. We are contemplating legal action against the source of the report.” The Knight Riders team director also raising a question on “factual errors” in the report. The report had mentioned that Akhtar was leaving from Karachi and had set off for Mumbai. The team statement claims that Akhtar had travelled to Delhi from Lahore and that he wasn’t carrying any hand baggage — hence no syringes.

The weather gods too have cast a shadow on the fateful match, with torrential rains lashing the city.