Shah Rukh's Knights' Training in Queensland

In his effort to fine-tune the squad ahead of the second edition of the Indian Premier League, coach John Buchanan has planned a two-week training camp for the Kolkata Knight Riders at his home state Queensland next month.

Beginning September 20, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team will take 16 promising players to Queensland in Australia, though the final list is yet to be finalised.

The Kolkata IPL team will play the Queensland first XI and a Queensland Academy of Sport team in a five-match series.

The Kolkata franchise, however, will be without its international stars like Australia captain Ricky Ponting and West Indian Chris Gayle, Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, team director Joy Bhattacharya told PTI.

"This is an initiative of Kolkata Knight Riders to give useful practice to its players ahead of the season. With Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence located there, we thought it's the best place to fine tune our players. The boys will undergo fitness regime under the supervision of coach John Buchanan," Bhattacharya added.

Asked whether team captain Sourav Ganguly would be a part of the touring squad, Bhattacharya said, "He's a busy player, we've to see all the international players availability. A detailed list of players will be released soon."

The Kolkata Knight Riders finished sixth in the eight-team inaugural IPL tournament earlier this year.

MSN - Sports