KOLKATA, April 26: A move that should have been executed long before the IPL began was finally put into effect only after the team had made an unimpressive start. Kolkata Knight Riders finally decided to send back Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar as both had faced a torrid time in the middle in their respective appearances against Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals in the early phase of IPL-2.

The official version has it that the duo did not fit in the present "scheme of things". But even though the KKR chief executive claims "it would be unfair to keep the two senior players around if they are not going to be played", the inside story is that team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan is bitterly upset with the show put up by the two players.

"It (sending back Chopra and Bangar) was more or less decided after each of them failed to perform in the matches they had featured in. Shah Rukh was upset with the duo and had a word or two with the team officials on this issue. The team management too has realised that signing someone like Bangar who had already been axed by Deccan (Chargers), was a big mistake," a KKR insider told this paper.

While Chopra laboured to 11 off 19 balls in the Knight Riders’ opening game, Bangar was rather pathetic — scoring just two before being foxed by Rajasthan Royals’ rookie pacer Kamran Khan.

On the other hand, it is believed that wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha’s speedy recovery (from a finger injury) too is one of the reasons that prompted the team management’s move. A fit Saha would always be the first choice before Chopra or Bangar given his performance in the inaugural edition. It was Saha’s finger-injury that paved the way through to the final XI for the axed duo.