KOLKATA, Oct 16: In a surprise move in the mid-season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), India’s known wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has quit the captaincy of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ team and handed over the responsibility to his vice-captain Eoin Morgan, who led England to world cup championship last year.
A statement issued by the franchise on Friday said Dinesh had decided to concentrate on his batting. “This is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore was quoted as saying in the release.
All the eight teams in the IPL have so far completed seven matches each and are to play seven more matches each. The KKR in its seven outings so far have won four losing the remaining three. Two of the four matches the team secured the full points were just saved by the skin which could easily have gone the other. As a batsman, Dinesh in seven matches so far has accumulated only 108 runs.
“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,” the release said.
(Manas Dasgupta)