Ever since the auction of the IPL 2018 took place, there have been speculations about who will lead the Kolkata Knight Riders. The franchise had let go of their previous skipper Gautam Gambhir that let a void to be filled. KKR have finally revealed that Dinesh Karthik will lead the purple and gold this year.
The Tamil Nadu-lad was picked up by KKR for INR 7.4 crore from the auction this year. He was amongst Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn who were deemed to be possible leaders but the wicketkeeper-batsman was found to be the most eligible. Robin Uthappa was elected to be the vice-captain of the side.
The 32-year-old has a fair amount of captaincy experience in the domestic circuit as he has captained Tamil Nadu. Under his leadership, Tamil Nadu won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2009-10. India Red won the Duleep Trophy last with Karthik being the captain.
The right-hander was excited after being chosen for the responsibility and looks forward to leading the side that has a good mix of experience and youth.
“It is an honour to represent Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the most successful franchises in the IPL and I look forward to this new challenge. I am excited about the squad that has been assembled, which has a great combination of experience and youth. I will do my best to represent brand KKR and the millions of KKR fans,” said Dinesh Karthik as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Karthik has been one of the premier contributors in the Indian Premier League as he played 152 IPL matches in which he has amassed 2903 runs at an average of 24.81. KKR will be his 6th IPL franchise as he has represented Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions in the past.
The right-hander played for the Lions last year where he scored 361 runs at a fine average of 36.1. He has been in a good nick of late that led to his inclusion in the Indian team as well. KKR has bee a very Gautam Gambhir-side in the recent years and it will be interesting to see how the transition occurs under Dinesh Karthik.
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