Five foreign players, including West Indies [Images] opener Chris Gayle figure in the 14-member Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the Indian Premier League lung-opener against Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 18.

The squad announced on Wednesday has New Zealander Brendon McCullum, Australian captain Ricky Ponting [Images], David Hussey and Pakistani Mohammed Hafiz.

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The Pakistani duo of Salman Butt [Images] and Umar Gul are yet to join the team, while Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar's [Images] participation in the tournament looks dim after he was slapped with a five-year ban by the Pakistani Cricket Board.

The IPL authorities have said that Shoaib will not be allowed to play unless the ban is lifted.

Zimbabwean Tatenda Taibu is the only foreign recruit for the Knight Riders who has not been included in the 14-member squad though he has practiced with the team.

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Coach John Buchanan said he was happy with the team. He said the team was announced after discussion with Sourav Ganguly [Images] and praised the captain saying "Sourav has a clear idea."

Following is the team: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Mohammed Hafiz, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar [Images], Ashok Dinda, Murali Kartik [Images], Ishant Sharma, Debabrata Das and Iqbal Abdullah.