Dinesh Karthik has decided to hand over the captaincy of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to Eoin Morgan midway through the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision comes as a surprise to many considering Karthik had led the side in seven matches in IPL 2020 and winning on 4 occasions. However, Tamil Nadu born mentioned that he wanted to focus on his batting front. In the ongoing season, Karthik has aggregated 108 runs in 7 outings, averaging 15.48, with the best score of 58 (29b) coming against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Abu Dhabi.
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Karthik took over the reins of KKR from Gautam Gambhir, who had led the side to titular wins in 2012 and 2014.
Under DK’s captaincy, the Men in Purple and Gold made it to the knockouts in 2018 and finished the season at the third spot. However, the Kolkata-based franchise couldn’t make way into the playoffs in 2019 as they finished at the 5th spot in the league stages with 6 wins in 14 matches.
The news of Morgan’s appointment as the skipper came out when KKR posted it on their official Twitter handle along with KKR CEO Venky Mysore’s statement.
“We are fortunate to have leaders such as DK who has always put the team first. It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this.
While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes. We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice captain, is willing to lead the side going forward. DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner,” KKR CEO added.
Eon Morgan to take charge ahead with immediate effect
Eoin Morgan is rated as England’s finest limited-overs captain, who led the side to their first 50-over World Cup triumph in 2019. In the last five years, especially post England’s sudden departure from the 2015 World Cup, Morgan has turned out to be a pivotal player whose skills both as a captain and batsman have helped the side reap victories on numerous occasions.
He was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020 auctions held last year at a price of 5.25 crores INR. In 7 innings played this season, the southpaw has amassed 175 runs at an average and strike rate of 35.09 and 129.63 respectively.
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In T20s, Morgan has been a part of 297 matches and has scored over 6500 runs at a strike rate of 132.48. Not to mention, he has 36 half-centuries to his name.
Currently placed at the 4th spot in the points table and with 8 points under their belt, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the table-toppers Mumbai Indians on Friday in Abu Dhabi.
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